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4 4 


There bain't no doubt but what 


that's a dog 


Page 58 


y yy 



Five Months on 
a Derelict 


OR, ADVENTURES ON A FLOATING 
WRECK IN THE PACIFIC 


Edwin J. Houston, Ph. D. (Princeton) 


Author of “The Boy Prospector/’ “The Boy Geologist,” 
“ The Boy Electrician,” “ The Search for the North 
Pole,” “The Discovery of the North Pole.” 

“ Cast Away at the North Pole,” “ The 
Wonder Book of Volcanoes and 
Earthquakes,” etc., etc. 



Philadelphia 


The Griffith & Rowland Press 


Boston Chicago Atlanta 

New York St. Louis Dallas 


v\^ 


I m - ■ , 

t-IBRARY of CO Atari £35 f 

iwo Cooies 

JUL 10 )*Utf 

•till toft i«im 

Mcuy 1^5 1*0% 

GLASiv A AXCi no 

XO 

COP Y tS. 


Copyright 1908 by the 
American Baptist Publication Society 

Published June, 1908 


from tbe Society’s own press 


t* 


PREFACE 


In “ Five Months on a Derelict,” the author tells a 
story of the sea connected with the wreck in the China 
Sea of the Ketrel, a full-rigged ship bound from Liver- 
pool to Yokohama, Japan. 

As the Ketrel was sinking its crew took to the boats. 
In one of these boats, commanded by the first mate, 
Lieut. Arthur Harding, were Hiram Higgenbotham, 
boatswain of the Ketrel, Harold Arthur Harding, and 
John Parker Jackson, young English lads, and two of 
the crew. During subsequent storms that continued for 
five days, the boat was wrecked during a dark night by 
a derelict brig. With the exception of the two of the 
crew, who were swept overboard during the storms, 
they all safely reached the deck of the brig accom- 
panied by a collie dog they had picked up from a 
floating boat. 

The derelict brig, although water-logged, owing to 
its load of lumber and cork, as well as to the pres- 
ence of water-tight compartments, floated sufficiently 
high to leave its cabin and its hold between decks free 
from water. They therefore found in a part of its 
cargo stored in the hold between decks, sufficient 
canne.d goods and other groceries to supply them with 
food for several months. Moreover, the water tanks 
were intact, and nearly filled with fresh water. 

5 


PREFACE 


In the story that follows the author has endeavored 
not only to interest the reader by the strange and ex- 
citing adventures the men and boys experienced during 
a period of five months in the Pacific, but at the same 
time to give them no little information concerning 
both the causes of ocean currents and the physical 
features of the Pacific Ocean. 

An extended experience with boys leads the author 
to hope that besides furnishing attractive reading 
matter, the book will not be destitute of educational 
value. 

Philadelphia, January, 1908. J* 


6 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Ketrel of London u 

II. Concerning Derelicts 22 

III. Hiram Higgenbotham, Boatswain 32 

IV. In the Indian Ocean 48 

V. In the Sea of Java and the China Sea .... 65 

VI. Destruction of the Boat 82 

VII. The Ghost of the Derelict 98 

VIII. Taking an Account of Stock 108 

IX. In the Kuro Sivo, or the Black Water . . . .122 

X. A Talk on Ocean Currents 135 

XI. A Steamer Sighted. The New Overcoats . . .148 

XII. Off the Shores of the Aleutian Island Chain. 163 

XIII. In the Wrack or Floating Kelp Masses of 

the North Pacific 176 

XIV. The Home of the Sea-otter 188 

XV. With Rompey and Satan 199 

XVI. A Most Perilous Position 214 

7 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XVII. The Post-boxes of the Sea 227 

XVIII. A Seaquake 240 

XIX. Castor and Pollux 253 

XX. The Sargasso Sea of the North Pacific . . . 266 

XXI. The Graveyard of the Sea 276 

XXII. Towed by a Cachalot 294 

XXIII. The Floating Bottle 31 1 

XXIV. Charley 325 

XXV. Charley’s Story 341 

XXVI. The Wreck of the Brig 354 


8 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

“‘There bain’t no doubt but what that’s a 
dog’ ” ( Frontispiece ) 

Map — Probable Course of the Derelict u - 

Map—^Ocean Currents I 35 " 

“ Satan on the support of the bell with the clapper 

in his claws ” 209 

“He soon came up to the boat, the boys helping 

him in” 223 ✓ 

“ They stood on the deck watching the electrical 

display ” 262 

“ ‘ We are heading fer the open water / cried 

Hiram ” 505 

“ The excitement of the poor animal now greatly 

increased ” 3 36 


CHARACTERS 


Harold Arthur Harding, | En g.jj sh i ads and chums . 

John Parker Jackson, J 

Charles Young Pleasanton, an English lad from 
Australia. 

William M. Parker, captain of the Ketrel and 
guardian of Jackson. 

Lieutenant Arthur Harding, uncle of Harold and 
first mate of the Ketrel of London. 

George Harding, of Yokohama, Harold’s father. 

Hiram Higgenbotham, boatswain, a Yankee. 

Dr. Charles B. Parsons, a passenger on the brig 
before she became a derelict. 

Rompey, a full-blooded collie dog. 

Satan, a poll-parrot. 

Officers and crew. 


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THE PACIFIC OCEAN 


On Mercator’s Projection 


CHART SHOWING PROBABLE FIVE MONTHS 
ROUTE OF DERELICT BRIG 

A. Derelict Boarded. 

B. In the Grasp of the Sargasso Sea. 

C. Cachalot Harpooned. 

D. Neighborhood of Harding Island. 


BO Longitude 140 V at' Orfmufiek. 120 


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I 
































































Five Months on a Derelict 


CHAPTER I 
The Ketrel of London 

“ Something in sight on our weather bow, sir ! ” cried 
the lookout on the Ketrel of London, to the second 
mate, the officer then in charge. “ Looks like the 
wreck of a schooner.” 

The officer at once began scanning the horizon with 
his glasses, saying to himself, as the different parts of 
the wreck came into view : 

“ All her masts gone ; broken off near the deck. 
Rails completely swept overboard; appears to have 
been burned to near the water’s edge.” Then calling 
to one of the crew, he said : “ Report to the captain 
the wreck of a schooner in sight on our weather bow.” 

The officer then beckoned to the first mate who was 
standing near him conversing with two boys, and when 
that gentleman approached, accompanied by both boys, 
he said, handing him his glasses : 

“ What do you make her, Harding? Looks as if 
she’d been in the water for a long time, don’t she ? ” 

The first mate took the glasses and exclaimed after 
a careful look : 

“ Yes, she’s water-logged. Doubtless a derelict 
floating with the currents, and ready to tear a hole 
ii 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in the bottom of any luckless vessel that may chance 
to be struck by her on a dark night.” 

“What’s a derelict, Uncle Arthur?” inquired the 
youngest of the two boys. “ I remember once while at 
Eton, when I had been cutting my work, the head 
master hauled me over the coals and said I was very 
derelict in my studies. Why do you call that wrecked 
schooner a derelict? Has she been failing to do some- 
thing she should have done? ” 

“ Shut up, Harold ; at least for a while. Here 
comes the captain,” remarked the other boy good- 
naturedly, but in a low voice. 

“All right, Jack,” was the reply; “I’ll keep mum 
while the captain is here. But you’ll tell me afterward, 
won’t you, uncle ? ” he said turning to the first mate. 

“ Yes, Harold, I’ll tell you,” was the reply. “ Ask 
me at the first opportunity, and I’ll tell you many 
strange stories about derelicts.” 

As Captain Parker approached, the officer in charge 
said : 

“ Wreck of a schooner on our weather bow, sir. 
Harding thinks she looks like a derelict.” 

The captain examined the distant object through a 
pair of powerful glasses he had brought with him from 
the cabin. 

“ I think it’s a derelict. As my orders are to de- 
stroy all dangerous derelicts, we will change our course 
and sail toward it.” He then cried to the man at the 
wheel : “ Hard-a-port.” 

“ Hard-a-port it is, sir,” replied the man. 

12 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The course thus altered, the ship rapidly approached 
the floating vessel. 

The above incident occurred in the South Atlantic, 
in latitude 22 0 S., longitude 24 0 W., on a certain day 
in the middle of June toward the close of the nineteenth 
century, on the Ketrel of London, a full-rigged ship. 
The Ketrel had sailed from Liverpool, and was bound 
for Yokohama, Japan. She had taken the southern 
course around Africa instead of through the Indian 
Ocean by the straits of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean 
Sea, and the Suez Canal, as she was scheduled to stop 
at Cape Town. Even if not intending to stop at 
the southern part of Africa, she might probably have 
taken the southern route since, in sailing from Eu- 
rope to India or Australia, a vessel can either pass 
from the North Atlantic through the Mediterranean 
and the Suez Canal, or may take the southern route 
around the Cape of Good Hope. Though the latter 
is the longer route, it possesses the advantages of 
meeting, in the Southern Hemisphere, both winds and 
ocean currents that will carry it toward the east. For 
the same reason, on the return to Europe from the 
East Indies or Australia, sailing vessels sometimes pre- 
fer to go by the western route, around Cape Horn, thus 
circumnavigating the globe. 

The Ketrel was an East India merchantman, and 
carried a varied cargo of goods intended for distribu- 
tion mainly in Japan. Her commander, Capt. William 
M. Parker, was a man of long experience on the 
water, on which he had passed most of his life. Since 
13 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


he had followed the sea continuously from his eight- 
eenth year, and was now past fifty-five, he had had 
some thirty-seven years of actual work at sea. 

The first mate, Lieut. Arthur Harding, was a much 
younger man, having only reached his thirty-fifth year. 
Moreover, he had not taken to the sea until his twenty- 
fifth year, the earlier years having been spent at col- 
lege, and at the Oxford University. During his I 
student life, Harding had made a specialty of geo- j 
graphical physics and meteorology. A study of the 
physics of the ocean had caused him to spend several 
years at sea, and this, together with a careful study of ; 
navigation, had finally induced him to follow the sea 
as a profession. 

Although there was a difference of some twenty j 
years in the ages of the captain and his first mate, yet 
the two men were close friends. The older man would 
sometimes good-naturedly chaff the other when, as 
was frequently the case, they differed on some nautical 
question, the older man saying that he had been at sea 
before the other was born and, therefore, ought to 
know more than he. The younger man, however, 
would retort good-naturedly: 

■ “ Undoubtedly, captain, you ought to know more, 

but in point of fact are you sure you do know more ? ” 1 

This, however, was only when both men were off - 
duty. While on duty the captain insisted on receiv- 
ing, and the first mate unhesitatingly accorded his su- 
perior officer, the obedience and respect his position 
called for. 


14 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The two boys, Harold Arthur Harding and John 
Parker Jackson, were English lads. Harold was much 
the younger of the two, being only about thirteen and a 
half years old, while John, or as his chum called him, 
Jack, was fully sixteen. Harold was the nephew of 
Lieutenant Harding, and was on his way to Yokohama, 
Japan, to join his father and mother, who were then 
living in the suburbs of that city, where his father, 
Mr. George Harding, was connected with the Eng- 
lish embassy. Jack, who was an orphan, having re- 
cently lost both father and mother, was on his way to 
join Mr. and Mrs. Harding in Yokohama. Jack and 
Harold had become warmly attached to each other 
while attending the great preparatory school at Eton, 
and on the death of his father and mother, Jack had 
been offered a home in the Harding family. 

Since Captain Parker, who temporarily was Jack’s 
guardian, spent the greater part of his life on the 
sea, and was unable to give the necessary care and 
attention to the boy, he gladly accepted the kind offer 
of Mr. and Mrs. Harding. The boys had, therefore, 
left Liverpool with Captain Parker in the Ketrel, 
as already stated. As for Jack, he was only too glad 
to continue his association with Harold, arrangements 
having been made for the boys to pursue their 
studies in Japan. Another reason why Captain 
Parker had not hesitated to accept the invitation of 
Mr. and Mrs. Harding, was that the Hardings were 
distantly connected with the Jacksons by marriage. 

Brought up as they had been in a great English 
15 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


preparatory school, both lads had thoroughly devel- 
oped in them the manly courage and persistency each 
had inherited from his parents. They had been taught 
to box, swim, run, wrestle, fence, and shoot. In 
cricket they would hold their own with almost any boys 
of their age. Harding, who was an expert with the 
rifle, pistol, and broadsword had, during his brief 
visits to his brother’s house, given Harold instructions 
in the use of these weapons until, considering his age, 
he became quite an expert. 

The Ketrel was rapidly approaching the derelict 
schooner, so that the distance between the two vessels 
was now so short that even without the use of glasses 
they could see every now and then the waves washing 
its decks near the bow. The splintered stumps of the 
masts projected only a few feet above the tops of the 
decks. The schooner had listed, probably by reason 
of the shifting of her cargo, so that the stern projected 
a few feet above the surface of the water. The bow on 
the contrary was covered by about a foot and a half of 
water. Caught in the ocean current the vessel was be- 
ing rapidly carried through the water, its velocity being 
slightly increased by the wind blowing against the pro- 
jecting stern. Now that they were near the vessel they 
could see that it had either been set on fire by the 
storm that destroyed it, or that an attempt had been 
made by some passing vessel to sink it by starting a fire. 

“ A dangerous derelict,” remarked Captain Parker. 
“ We must blow her up before she rips the bottom of 
some unfortunate vessel she may strike either in a 
16 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


heavy fog or in the darkness of night.” Then turning 
to the lieutenant, he said : “ Harding, take a crew in 
the long boat; board the derelict; place a few torpe- 
does in her hold, and blow her out of the water.” 

As soon as he had received this command, Harding 
said to one of the crew : 

“ Send the boatswain to me.” 

“ Aye, aye, sir,” was the reply. 

When the boatswain, named Hiram Higgenbotham, 
approached, he said : 

“ Pick out a crew of six men ; man the long boat ; 
take the gunner with you. Tell him to place two tor- 
pedoes on the boat, and then report to me. We will 
board the derelict and blow her out of the water.” 

As soon as the two boys heard these orders, Harold 
exclaimed : 

“ O Uncle Arthur, may Jack and I go with you? It 
would be such great sport to board the schooner.” 

“ If the captain is willing,” replied Harding, “ I 
have no objections to your going.” 

“ I see no reason why the boys should not go. If 
they keep still and obey orders they will not be in the 
way.” 

“ Thank you, captain,” exclaimed both boys. “ We 
will do exactly as we are told.” » 

It was fortunate for the boys that both Captain 
Parker and Lieutenant Harding thoroughly believed 
in treating the boys, not as little children, but in such 
a manner as best to develop their manliness. Neither 
believed in coddling boys, or forbidding them from 
B 17 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


doing reasonable things lest an accident might occur. 
Under this treatment the proper kind of a boy soon 
learns that most valuable lesson of how to take care of 
himself. For this reason both boys while on the Ketrel 
were permitted to do things that to perhaps the ma- 
jority of people would have appeared to be highly 
dangerous. 

The long boat manned by a crew of six men, not 
counting the gunner, Lieutenant Harding, and the 
two boys, was soon spinning through the water under 
the strong and well-timed pull of the oars. 

As they approached the stern of the schooner the 
name of the wrecked vessel could be partially seen in 
raised letters that once had been firmly attached to 
the woodwork. Some of these letters, however, had 
been torn off by the force of the waves, although 
enough of them remained to show that the name of 
the vessel was The Sallie B. of B n. 

“ Apparently an American vessel. What do you 
think, Higgenbotham? ” remarked Harding. 

“ ’Pears like a Yankee-built wessel, sir,” was the 
reply. 

A period could be distinctly seen after the first letter 
“ B,” and since the space between the second letter 
“ B ” and the final “ n ” was five letters, the name of 
the vessel was evidently The Sallie B. something of 
some city or town beginning with a “ B,” and ending 
with an “ n.” 

“ That ’ere name might be Boston, sir,” said Higgen- 
botham to the lieutenant. 

18 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Harold, who had been looking at the lettering on the 
stern through a pair of field-glasses, handed them to 
his uncle and said : 

“ Look, Uncle Arthur, you can see the first letter of 
the last word was a ‘ B ’ ; for where it was attached to 
the stern the wood is of a different color from the 
rest of the wood.” 

“ That’s true, Harold,” was the reply, “ and, as 
there’s about room for four additional letters between 
the 4 B ’ and the ‘ n ’ the schooner has most probably 
come originally from Boston.” 

Making their boat fast to the side of the schooner, 
and leaving two of the crew in it, the rest boarded her. 
The portion of the charred deck near the stern was 
high and dry above the water, but the bow was covered 
with shallow water, and every now and then the waves 
broke over nearly half of the deck. 

There were many evidences that the vessel had been 
adrift for a long time; for the planks were covered 
with seaweed and the sides with barnacles, 

“ There is a sargasso sea to the east of us,” re- 
marked Harding. “ She has probably been caught in 
it and has perhaps remained there for several years, 
until at last, under a strong wind, she has drifted into 
an ocean current and again started on her dangerous 
voyage.” 

“Why has not the schooner sunk long ago, sir?” 
inquired Jack of the lieutenant. 

“ I cannot say for certain, Jack,” was the reply, 
“ but most probably because she is loaded with lumber. 
19 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


If this is so, she may remain drifting about on the 
ocean for several additional years. However,” he 
added, turning to the gunner, “ she is a dangerous 
derelict. We must try to blow her out of the water. 
I guess we can do this, can we not? ” he inquired of 
the gunner. 

The gunner, pleased with the idea of blowing some-- 
thing up, replied : 

“ There won’t be much trouble about that, sir. But 
let me first see what remains out of water below deck.” 

Although nearly all the interior was filled with 
water, yet they finally succeeded in placing two tor- 
pedoes in parts of the hold far enough below the top 
of the vessel to blow her out of the water when 
exploded. 

It required rather more than an hour to put the two 
torpedoes in place. As soon as this was done a fuse, 
long enough to burn for several minutes, was suitably 
attached to them, and led over the stern of the vessel. 
They then boarded the long boat, and setting fire to 
the fuse rowed rapidly away. 

When at a distance of about five hundred feet from 
the derelict a dull explosion was heard, a sheet of flame 
was seen issuing from the doomed vessel, and a column 
of water was thrown high into the air. The force of 
the explosion blew the vessel into fragments, so that 
the ocean was soon covered for some distance around 
with pieces of wreckage. These, however, being for 
the greater part water-logged, soon sunk again. That 
the principal cargo of the schooner was lumber could 
20 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


be seen from the logs and sawn boards that remained 
for some time floating on the surface of the ocean. 

“ That’s the end of a dangerous derelict,” remarked 
the lieutenant as they rowed toward the ship. 

That night Captain Parker entered the following in 
his log-book : 

“June 15, 18 — , latitude 22 0 S., longitude 30° W., 
a derelict schooner sighted on the weather bow about 
noon. Sent a crew with Lieutenant Harding, who 
blew her up with two torpedoes. Schooner was 

marked on her bow, ‘ The Sallie B. of B n.’ 

Difference in the color of the wood showed that the 
first missing letter of the last word was 4 B,’ the vessel 
was, therefore, probably of Boston.” 


21 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER II 
Concerning Derelicts 

The derelict schooner had been sighted about noon, 
and several hours passed before the long boat returned 
to the ship. All on the boat, especially the boys, were 
therefore ready for the noonday meal. After the 
meal, this not being the lieutenant’s watch, that gen- 
tleman, accompanied by the two boys, sought the 
shade of an awning on the deck. Naturally the con- 
versation turned on the events of the past few hours. 

“ Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ I won’t ask 
you now what a derelict is, since we have seen one, 
and I know pretty much all about it as far as the name 
is concerned.” 

“ So you know all about it, do you? ” said Jack in 
a chaffing tone. “ Suppose you begin by telling us 
just what a derelict is.” 

“ I can do that,” replied Harold. “ A derelict is 
a wreck without anybody on it, that floats about on the 
waters wherever the winds and waves may happen to 
take it. How is that for a definition, Uncle Arthur ? ” 
appealing to the lieutenant as the court of last resort. 

“ A fairly good definition, Harold,” was the reply. 
“ The word derelict is generally applied to any ship 
or other vessel that has been voluntarily abandoned at 
sea, with no intention of returning to it or claiming it 
22 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


again. The name derelict is also sometimes applied to 
any property that is voluntarily given up or abandoned 
by its owner. It is, however, most frequently applied 
to a vessel at sea. ,, 

“ Then,” replied Harold, “ I don’t see how the head 
master at Eton was right in saying that I was derelict.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know,” replied Jack laughing, “ you 
were certainly in such a condition as regards your 
school work that you could properly be said to be lost 
or adrift, and never expected to find or return to your- 
self again.” 

“ Jack is putting it into you rather hard, Harold,” 
said the lieutenant smiling. “ I think, however, he has 
made a very excellent statement. He pictures you, 
Harold, as a ship sailing over the ocean. You are the 
master or commander, and are supposed to be sailing 
your vessel in search of knowledge or information. 
You had, so to speak, voluntarily abandoned or ceased 
to direct your vessel and had thus for the time become 
a derelict. In this way the head master very properly 
spoke of you as being a derelict, or of being derelict to 
your duty.” 

“ Thank you, uncle,” replied Harold, “ I under- 
stand the word now very well.” 

“ Lieutenant,” said Jack, “ won’t you tell us some- 
thing about derelicts? Are there very many on the 
ocean ? ” 

“ Yes, Jack, there are many thousands on the differ- 
ent oceans. Of course, every now and then they sink 
in the deep water and thus disappear. And then again 
23 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


they are frequently blown up, just as we have done 
with the schooner to-day. But since, during every 
severe storm many other derelicts are started off on 
their wanderings, their number is constantly being 
added to.” 

“ In what parts of the ocean is one most likely to 
meet them, Uncle Arthur ? ” inquired Harold. 

“ Derelicts are common in the Pacific, Atlantic, and 
the Indian Oceans. They are also seen frequently in 
the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans. They are com- 
monest however in the North Atlantic, especially off 
the eastern coasts of the United States. In a publica- 
tion by the United States Hydrographic Office on the 
‘ Wrecks and Derelicts of the North Atlantic Ocean,’ 
it appears that from 1887 to 1893 a total number of 
one thousand one hundred and forty-six unidentified 
derelicts have been observed. When we add to these 
four hundred and eighty-two identified derelicts there 
is a total of one thousand six hundred and twenty- 
eight observed in seven years.” 

“ Gracious,” exclaimed Harold in an astonished 
tone, “ what an awful number of wrecks must have 
occurred on the ocean ! ” 

“ Yes,” replied his uncle; “ for the derelicts only 
include the vessels that don’t sink. Most wrecked 
vessels sink almost immediately, and only a few remain 
floating.” 

“ Lieutenant,” inquired Jack, “ which generally 
cause the greatest damage to vessels, icebergs or 
derelicts ? ” 


24 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ What would you say to that, Harold ? ” inquired 
the lieutenant, who was a natural born teacher, and 
who being with the boys a large part of his spare time 
was endeavoring to give them as much information 
about the sea and its many strange phenomena as he 
could. “ Do you think icebergs would be more dan- 
gerous to vessels than derelicts.” 

“ Why, of course, uncle,” replied Harold, “ icebergs 
would be much more dangerous. Think how much 
bigger an iceberg is — bigger generally than even the 
largest ships. Mr. Higgenbotham, the boatswain, told 
me the other day that he had seen icebergs several 
hundred feet high and several thousands of feet in 
length. Think what a blow such a big piece of ice 
could give to a vessel if it should happen to strike 
against it.” 

“ What do you think, Jack? ” returned the lieuten- 
ant, turning to the boy. 

“ Well,” said Jack, “ I guess Harold is right; is he 
not, sir? ” 

“ No,” was the reply, “ you are both wrong. An 
iceberg, as a rule, is far less dangerous to vessels than 
derelicts. Icebergs, however, have been known to sink 
many vessels.” 

“ Won’t you please tell us why derelicts are so dan- 
gerous? ” inquired Jack. 

“Yes, uncle,” said Harold laughing, “you surely 
ought to tell us now after letting us guess wrong.” 

“ Well, there are various reasons why derelicts are 
more to be dreaded at sea than icebergs. In the first 
25 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


place an iceberg projects so far above the surface of the 
ocean that it can be easily seen by the lookout unless 
the air is very foggy or the night very dark. Even 
when it cannot be distinctly seen, an iceberg can often 
make itself felt by reason of the cool air that accom- 
panies it. During foggy weather, at day-time, when 
the berg cannot be seen directly, its presence may often 
easily be recognized by the glow of light thrown off 
from its surface. 

“ In the next place, when a vessel is struck by an ice- 
berg, since the ice projects so high above the surface 
of the water, the blow is generally received above the 
level of its first bulkhead. The damage is, therefore, 
generally of such a character as not immediately to 
sink the vessel. 

“ Now a derelict is a very different thing. In the 
first place, it lies low in the water, so low indeed that 
it is difficult for the lookout, even if keen-sighted and 
alert, to detect it. Indeed, in many cases, it is prac- 
tically impossible to detect its presence even during 
good weather, since it is so low in the water. Often, 
the only indication of its presence is a sudden blow 
given to the vessel. This blow, coming as it does 
against the ship’s bottom, is apt to rip her open so that 
often in a few moments the unfortunate vessel sinks 
to the bottom with all on board.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” inquired Harold, “ are not dere- 
licts the cause of the disappearance of so many ves- 
sels that sail out from port and are never again heard 
of?” 


26 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Yes, Harold, they undoubtedly are. For this rea- 
son, nearly all the principal governments of the world 
give instructions to their vessels when meeting dere- 
licts, that cannot be towed into port, to blow them up, 
as we have done, or to sink them in some other way.” 

“ How do they generally destroy derelicts, uncle? ” 
inquired Harold. 

“ Various methods are employed, Harold. Some- 
times, with heavy vessels like cruisers, ramming is 
employed ; that is, the cruiser throws itself against the 
sides of the derelict for the purpose of sinking it by 
cutting a hole in the side. This method, however, is 
not always found to be safe. I remember reading of a 
derelict that the United States cruiser, Atlanta, en- 
deavored to destroy in this way. Getting up her full 
speed she hurled herself against the side of the derelict. 
This derelict, as in the case of the one we sunk to-day, 
was loaded with timber, and was therefore difficult 
to sink. The first blow cut off her stern. At the sec- 
ond blow, another small section was sheared off. The 
third blow caught the derelict amidships, but the 
rammed vessel stuck on the ram and rode with it for a 
short distance. The fourth blow nearly cut the dere- 
lict in two, and the fifth blow sank her. The work, 
however, had been very severe, and the cruiser's prow 
was so strained that on reaching port it was necessary 
to dock her for repairs.” 

“ Lieutenant,” inquired Jack, “ would it not be easier 
to destroy a derelict by striking her with projectiles 
from large guns? ” 


27 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Yes, Jack,” was the reply, “ and, as a rule, our 
cruisers are only too glad to meet a derelict, since it 
affords them excellent gun practice. You see it is not 
an easy thing to find a satisfactory target for large 
guns at sea, so that a derelict is hailed by them as a 
piece of good fortune.” 

“ I imagine a derelict cannot stand many balls from 
a large gun,” said Harold. 

“ On the contrary, Harold,” replied his uncle, “ a 
water-logged derelict is by no means easy to sink. The 
projectiles instead of splitting the wood and thus break- 
ing up the vessel, simply pass through its more or less 
rotten timbers and, since nearly all the vessel is already 
filled with water, a few additional holes in her side 
make but little difference.” 

“ Then,” said Harold, “ a torpedo is best for sinking 
derelicts; am I right, uncle?” 

“ Yes,” was the reply; “ a torpedo is by far the most 
satisfactory method.” 

“ Uncle, I remember you said you could tell us many 
interesting stories about derelicts.” 

“ That is true, my boy. Derelicts are so common in 
the ocean that you will find almost every sailor who 
has passed many years on the water has had some ex- 
perience with them.” 

“ Won’t you tell us some of these stories? ” inquired 
Harold anxiously. 

“ Yes, please do,” added Jack. 

“ Well, I will tell you a few stories, and then 
you can go to some of the sailors in the forecastle 
28 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


who will doubtless be glad to spin you yarns about 
derelicts.” 

“ All right, uncle, we’ll begin with your stories,” 
said Harold. 

“ Well, to begin with, the distance traveled by dere- 
licts is often very great. The Fanny E. Woolston, an 
American schooner, was first observed as a derelict on 
October 15, 1891, in the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Hat- 
teras. She then drifted for over three years, during 
which time she probably traveled more than ten thou- 
sand miles. This derelict started with the Gulf Stream 
toward Europe, but being afterward blown into the 
Sargasso Sea by a gale remained there for a long time, 
and afterward escaped and again started on its travels. 
She was seen on nearly fifty different occasions, and 
when last observed was apparently in as good condi- 
tion as when abandoned. 

“ Another schooner, the Alma Cummings, drifted 
for five hundred and eighty-seven days over the At- 
lantic for a distance that has been estimated at about 
five thousand miles. She left Port Royal for Boston in 
January, 1895, loaded with lumber, and was wrecked 
by a blizzard in February. Her masts were snapped 
off close to the decks, when the spars, held by the rig- 
ging, punched holes in the side of the vessel, and the 
seams opening, the water poured into the hold in jets. 
Her lumber, however, kept her afloat, although she 
was continually swept by seas. 

“ The crew suffered great hardships. Ice two feet 
thick formed on the deck; the pumps froze; all pro- 
29 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


visions on the vessel were soaked with water, and not 
a single match was left to start a fire. At last, how- 
ever, by firing a rifle into a can filled with kerosene oil 
a flame was obtained. This fire was carefully hus- 
banded for cooking purposes after extinguishing what 
might have led to a general conflagration. After pro- 
longed sufferings the crew was rescued by the British 
steamer Queensmore, one hundred miles off the coast 
of New Jersey, and the vessel was abandoned. 

“ The Alma Cummings was reported by a number of 
ships as a derelict drifting in various parts of the 
Atlantic Ocean. Several months afterward she was 
reported near the equator, burned to the water’s edge.” 

“ Then, lieutenant,” remarked Jack, “ in some cases 
derelicts have been found in good condition and the 
cargo uninjured?” 

“ Yes, Jack,” was the reply. “ But I will only have 
time to tell you the remarkable story of the Celeste. 
She sailed in 1887 for New York with thirteen people 
aboard, including the captain’s wife and child. Two 
weeks later she was sighted by a British bark pursuing 
such an erratic course that the people on the bark 
knowing that something was wrong, sent out a boat 
and boarded her. No sign of life was seen on board, 
although a careful search was made on all parts of the 
vessel, but everywhere a silence and quiet like that of 
a great pest-house prevailed. 

“ What was especially strange about this vessel was 
that the crew from the British bark could see nothing 
wrong. All the boats except the largest, were hang- 

30 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ing on the davits. The hull was not at all damaged. 
The rigging and the spars were uninjured, the sails 
were all set and the cargo remained untouched. Even 
the men’s washing was seen hanging up above the fore- 
castle. An awning was spread over the poop. The 
binnacle-wheel and rudder were intact. 

“ A sewing-machine was found in the cabin with a 
child’s dress under the needle. A half-eaten dinner 
remained on the table. The ship’s chronometer was 
still ticking in the chartroom, while the cash-box had 
not been touched. The log, posted up to within forty- 
eight hours of the time of the visit, recorded no threat- 
ened disaster. 

“ Although the most careful inquiry and search were 
made yet no trace could be found of those thirteen 
people who had thus suddenly disappeared, nor were 
they ever afterward heard of.” 

“ That’s an all-right story, uncle,” replied Harold. 
“ What do you suppose was the cause of the disap- 
pearance ? ” 

“ I don’t know,” was the reply, “ I will talk about it 
some other time, but now I must get ready to go on my 
watch. Go and talk to the sailors in the forecastle 
about it ; they will probably spin you many yarns about 
this and other curious things that have happened to 
derelicts.” 


31 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER III 

Hiram Higgenbotham, Boatswain 

Hiram Higgenbotham, boatswain of the Ketrel, was 
a native of Massachusetts. Like most Yankees he 
possessed no little inventive power, and having in his 
early life learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, 
was able to put such of his inventions, that could be 
modeled in wood, into practical shape. Hiram had in 
later life followed the sea for twenty-five years, and 
being bright and quick to learn had mastered his new 
calling and was in every respect an able seaman. Un- 
like most seamen he cared very little for his grog, but 
was an inveterate smoker. Indeed, when not on duty he 
was most always seen with his lighted pipe in his 
mouth; for, like many other men, Hiram was a slave 
to the smoking habit. 

Hiram was a good-natured man and was much liked 
both by officers and crew. He was perhaps one of the 
best men among the sailors to spin a yarn, and appeared 
to be well posted, not only about things that happened 
on the sea, but was well acquainted with the habits of 
most of the animals to be seen at sea either in the air 
or in the water. But Hiram was frightfully ungram- 
matical, his English being something awful. Like 
most sailors he was exceedingly superstitious and, 
firmly believing in ghosts, apparitions, dreams, and 
32 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


omens, was constantly on the lookout for signs of 
good or bad luck to himself, to his companions, or to 
the ship. 

The boys, to whom a free run of all parts of the ves- 
sel had been given by both the captain and the lieuten- 
ant, had already made friends with many of the sailors, 
especially with the boatswain. On his part, Hiram had 
been greatly attracted by the boys, who visited the fore- 
castle several times nearly every day. They greatly 
liked to hear him spin some of his wonderful yarns. 
Even when Hiram was away there was almost always 
some one of the crew who was only too glad to en- 
tertain the boys with stories of the sea, or to answer 
their many questions. 

When the lieutenant had finished talking about dere- 
licts and had left the boys to get ready to go on his 
watch, Jack said to Harold : 

“ Let’s go to the forecastle and get Mr. Higgen- 
botham to tell us some stories about derelicts.” 

“ Agreed,” said Harold. 

The boys were soon in the forecastle where they 
found the boatswain partly hidden by a dense cloud of 
tobacco smoke he was raising by pulling vigorously at 
a clay pipe. As the boys entered the forecastle some 
five or six of the crew drew near the boatswain in 
order to hear the conversation. 

“ Good arternoon, my lads,” exclaimed Hiram, 
“ what kin I do for you ? ” 

“ We came to ask you to tell us anything you can 
about derelicts,” replied Harold. 

33 


c 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ What do you wish fer to know about them? ” in- 
quired the boatswain. 

“ Why,” said Harold, “ Uncle Arthur was telling us 
a very strange story about a derelict called the Celeste. 
Have you ever heard about her ? ” 

“ Have I ever heerd about the Celeste ! ” exclaimed 
the boatswain. “ I calculate I have often heerd tell 
how thirteen people on her suddenly disappeared, and 
were never arterwards found. I reckon there are none 
of my messmates here but wot heerd the wonder- 
ful yarn of the Celeste.” 

“ You’re right there, Hiram,” exclaimed one of the 
men. “ We’ve all heerd of her, haven’t we ? ” in- 
quired he of the other men. 

“ We sartinly have,” murmured the mem 

“ But what do you want to ask about the Celeste, 
my lads ? ” inquired the boatswain. 

Harold answered this question. 

“ I can’t understand, Mr. Higgenbotham,” he said, 
“ how so many people could have disappeared suddenly 
without leaving any traces behind them.” 

“Don’t let that trouble you, sonny. You are not 
the only one who hain’t been able to get on the track 
of them unfortunate people. There’s a-many older 
than ye who have tried to crack that ’ere nut, but 
they’ve guv it up as ruther too tough for ’em.” 

“ Mr. Higgenbotham,” exclaimed Jack, “ Lieutenant 
Harding told us it was evident that there had been 
no accident to the vessel, and that there were no signs 
of mutiny or sickness. It seemed as if all had left the 
34 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


vessel in one of the boats, for all the other boats were 
there and only one was missing.” 

“ That’s true, my lad,” remarked Higgenbotham, 
“ and they appeared to have left it tarnation quick. 
So quick that the sailors hadn’t no time to take their 
kits out of the fokesel, nor the wash that was hanging 
on the line above the fokesel. It war jest the same 
thing in the cabin. The folks there didn’t stop to 
finish eating their dinner, but left a sight of wittles on 
the table. The cap’in’s wife even left a dress she war 
making for her little one under the needle of her 
sewing-machine.” 

“ Yes,” added one of the crew greatly interested in 
the story, “ a chronometer was found ticking in the 
chartroom. The cash-box was untouched. Wot ever 
made those people leave it made ’em leave blame quick ; 
for they went over the side into one boat even leaving 
the sails set.” 

“ And are you sure,” inquired Harold, “ there had 
been no sickness or trouble on board? Had nothing 
gone wrong with the vessel or the crew ? ” 

“ Sartin,” replied Higgenbotham. “ It was so writ- 
ten down in a book wot don’t lie. The cap’en writ it 
down in his log-book only forty-eight hours afore the 
wessel was boarded by a crew from the British bark 
that nothing had gone wrong as fur as up to that ’ere 
time.” 

“ I suppose then there couldn’t have been any mis- 
take in the log-book,” said Jack. 

“ No, my lad,” replied the boatswain, “ wot’s writ 

35 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


down in a log-book is treu. The log-book don’t tell 
no lies. Does it, mates ? ” appealing to the crew. 

“ Sartinly not,” replied the men, “ you can bet on 
thet.” 

“ Then what made them leave ? Can you make it 
out, Mr. Higgenbotham ? ” inquired the boys. 

“ I calculate I hev my opeenions about it. But I’m 
free to acknowledge my mates don’t agree with me.” 

“ Now, Hiram,” said one of the men, “ don’t fill the 
lads’ heads with any of your superstitious nonsense.” 

“ All right, matie,” replied the boatswain, “ sup- 
pose you tell the lads just how it happened.” 

“ Well, my lads,” was the reply, “ I’ll tell ye, free, 
I don’t know how it happened. No more does any one 
here. But it did happen and it happened all of a sud- 
dint. The entire crew appears to have gone over the 
side and were never again heard from.” 

“ So that’s the best explanation ye kin give the lads,” 
said the boatswain with a sneer. 

“ Yes, that’s the best I kin give.” 

“ Hiram,” said some of the crew laughing, “ let’s 
have the way ye explain it.” 

“ Ye ain’t goin’ to hear it from me,” said the boat- 
swain. “ I ain’t goin’ to take the chance to be laughed 
at by such a bloomin’ lot of lubbers as ye are.” 

“ Please let us hear your explanation, Mr. Higgen- 
botham,” pleaded Harold. 

“ Yes, please tell us the way you look at it,” added 
Jack. 

“ Wall then,” said the boatswain more graciously, 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ since the lads ask me how I square the thing up I’ll 
tell ye treu. Them people on the Celeste were sud- 
dently took off the wessel by specters or ghosts.” 

At this most of the men laughed and began chaffing 
Hiram, calling out : 

“ Is it a pipe dream ye are givin’ the lads, Hiram? ” 

Some few, however, appeared to be greatly in- 
terested with Hiram’s statement, and nodded their 
heads to indicate that they agreed with him. 

“ Why, Mr. Higgenbotham,” exclaimed the two 
boys, “ you surely don’t believe in ghosts or specters. 
We thought that such ideas were no longer held by 
intelligent people.” 

“ But I can’t help believin’ in ’em, my lads,” was the 
reply. “ I heven’t only met a-plenty of men who have 
seed ghosts, but I hev seed them myself.” 

“ Tell us some of these stories, Mr. Higgen- 
botham ? ” asked the boys eagerly. 

“ Well, my lads, listen. Once when I wuz on a 
wessel before the mast, a man whose hammock wuz 
swung alongside of mine woke up suddently and be- 
gan yelling fierce. Jumping out of my hammock, I 
sed, ‘ What’s up, messmate ? ’ and he sed, ‘ The ghost 
of my dead brother has been lying down in my bunk. 
I seed him sure. See, the bunk is wet with sea- water.’ 
And sartin it was,” added Hiram solemnly. 

“ What made the man think it was a ghost ? ” in- 
quired one of the men. “ Perhaps it was some fellow 
playing a trick on him.” 

“ I’m not a-answering that,” replied Hiram. “ But 

37 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


this I will tell ye. When that man got to port he heard 
that his brother had been drowned at sea at jest the 
same time as he was seen in his brother’s bunk.” 

Hiram’s story appeared to impress greatly some of 
the sailors, one of whom remarked : 

“ I’ll spin ye a yarn to match that, Hiram. I 
signed fer a ship that was heading just as we are for the 
Cape of Good Hope. One of the crew declared that a 
ghost came on the ship in the night and said, ‘ Turn out 
and heave the lead.’ We did so, but not touching bot- 
tom we turned in again. The ghost again appeared 
and said, 4 Turn out, and heave the lead.’ We did so 
agin and found only seven fathoms. Telling the captain 
what had happened, the ship was tacked about, and 
when the sun rose they found they had made a mis- 
take in their observations and were not several hun- 
dred miles from the cape as they supposed, but a’most 
directly on it.” 

“ Hiram,” said one of the crew, “ ye said ye had 
seed a ghost yourself. Spin us that ere yarn.” 

“ I’ll spin it for ye,” exclaimed the boatswain, “ and 
it’s a treu yarn too. Nigh fifteen years ago, when I 
was sarving on a wessel outward bound from Charles- 
ton, S. C., to New York, one of the crew wuz named 
Sam Johnson, the wickedest man I’ve ever seed and 
that’s not saying a little. Somehow or other Sam 
seemed to care a mighty sight for me. He told me one 
day when he had been taking too much grog, for I 
didn’t care for mine and guv it to him, that he had 
murdered several men. About two days arter we had 

38 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


left port a great storm rose and we wuz in danger of 
sinking. Sam was greatly afeered, and called out 
every now and then that he seed the ghosts of the 
people he had killed beckoning to him to come into 
the water. At last he came to me and said : ‘ Hiram, 
ef I don’t leave this blooming ship this here storm will 
sink her; fer the ghosts of ’em murdered men air 
going to hev me in the water even if they have to spill 
the whole crew overboard, so I reckon I have to leave 
ye.’ With that he jumped overboard from the rigging 
and I could hear him shriek just as he was sinking in 
the water, ‘ They’ve got me, Hiram ; they say the 
storm will pass now.’ ” 

“ And did the storm pass ? ” inquired the boys. 

“ Sartin,” was the reply, “ but I ain’t through my 
story. The storm stopped as Sam had sed it would, and 
we reached our port safely. On our voyage back to 
Charleston, as we wuz passing the place whar Sam 
jumped overboard another storm struck us. Now 
maties, this is what I seed when standing on the deck 
at midnight. I suddently looked up and seed as plain 
ez I see ye here around me, the speerit of Sam Johnson. 
I knowed it was Sam fur he looked just as he did the 
night he cum to me and told me he wuz goin’ over the 
side.” 

“Did he look jest like a livin’ man, Hiram?” in- 
quired one of the crew, who evidently was a believer 
in ghosts. 

“ No, matie,” replied Hiram, “ thet’s just it. He 
hed a kind of a thin, misty look about him, just as if he 
39 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


warn’t made uv flesh and blood like livin’ people, but 
uv a kind of a smoke. Though he was standing in 
front uv the mainmast, yet I could look right through 
his body to the wood of the mast.” 

“Was ye skeered, Hiram?” inquired one of the 
men. 

“ I reckon I was sartinly considerable skeered,” was 
the reply ; “ but I said bold-like, so as to fool Sam 
and make him think I didn’t keer : 4 Who are ye, any- 
how? What are ye a-coming on this ship fur? ” 

“ ‘ I am the speerit of Sam Johnson,’ was the an- 
swer, ‘ who jumped overboard from this wessel in this 
here place when ye were out’ard bound.’ 

“ ‘ What do ye mean, Sam Johnson,’ I said kinder 
fierce-like, ‘ a-comin’ on this here wessel and bringing 
this tarnation storm along with ye. Speerits like ye 
have no call to come aboard an honest wessel. What 
do ye want, enyhow ? ’ 

“ ‘ I can’t rest, Hiram,’ Sam’s speerit answered me, 
‘till I git all thet belongs to me on this here wessel.’ 

“ Then,” said Hiram, “ I kinder drove sharp, and 
made a bargain with Sam. 

“ ‘ Will ye promise me straight to go and take this 
here storm with ye if I dump overboard all I can find 
of yourn on the wessel ? ’ 

“ ‘ I promise straight,’ was the reply.” 

“ And did you do it? ” asked the boys laughing. 

“ Yes,” replied Hiram, “ I knew the part of the 
fokesel whar they had kept Sam’s chest, so I got it and 
hove it overboard.” 


40 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ And did the storm stop then?” inquired one of 
the crew. 

“ Yes, Sam’s speerit dove into the water arter the 
chest and took the storm along with him, so that in a 
little while it was good weather agin.” 

“ And was that the last you saw of Sam ? ” inquired 
Harold laughing. 

“ No, my lad, afore we reached the harbor another 
storm arose and I agin seed Sam’s speerit standin’ 
alongside me near midnight, so I said : 

“ ‘ What’s up, Sam? Ain’t ye comfortable and 
happy yet ? ’ 

“ ‘ I’m as happy as a man like me kin hope to be,’ he 
said, ‘ but I’m still missing one of my boots. Look it 
up for me, Hiram, or I’ll hang around this here wessel 
with a big storm and git it ef I have to drown every 
mother’s son of ye.’ 

“ ‘ Now don’t git excited, Sam,’ I replied, ‘ none of 
us here want that ’ere boot. Besides, it’s an odd one, 
and it would be of no use to any one except a man with 
a wooden leg, and we hain’t got no sich feller aboard. 
I’ll go find it.’ 

“ * And I’ll wait here ontil ye fetch it,’ replied Sam’s 
ghost. 

“ I went to the fokesel and looked fer a quarter- 
hour but couldn’t find it, so I returned and said : 

“ * Ye’ve made a mistake, Sam, it ain’t thar.’ 

“ * Yes it is,’ said Sam, ‘ I see it in the corner on the 
right hand as ye enter the door, back of a lot of boxes.’ 

“ ‘ All right,’ I said, ‘ I’ll go fetch it. ’ ” 

4i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ And did you find it? ” inquired Jack laughing. 

“ It was thar fur sartin, just as Sam hed told me, so 
I took it back to Sam’s speerit and said : 

“ ‘ Now look here, Sam, I’m gitting tired of this 
here game. It’s mean of you to come here with your 
storms. If I heave this here boot overboard will ye 
leave and take the storm with ye and never come back 
agin ? ’ 

“ ‘ I promise,’ said Sam’s ghost. 

“ So I hove the old boot overboard. Sam dived 
arter it, and I never seed him agin.” 

Hiram appeared to enjoy this story so much and 
chuckled so heartily while he was relating it that the 
boys greatly suspected that he was chaffing them. So 
too did some of the crew, who remarked : 

“ You are sartinly great, Hiram, at spinning yarns.” 

“ Then do I understand,” said Harold to the boat- 
swain, “ that you think it was a speerit or a ghost that 
caused the people of the Celeste to leave the vessel ? ” 

“ I don’t say I limit it to one speerit. It may hev 
been a lot of speerits for all I know, but I hold 
that it was speerits or ghosts wot made them folks 
leave the wessel so suddent.” 

“ Then you really believe in ghosts, Mr. Higgen- 
botham? ” said Jack. 

“ How kin I help it, my lad ; I’ve seed them and see- 
in’ is believin’, is it not? ” 

“ It may be, Hiram,” said one of the crew, “ pro- 
vided ye were not in a condition in which ye seed 
things double or other than they wuz.” 

42 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


One of the men who was better educated than the 
rest of the crew remarked : 

“ My lads, it is just possible that the luckless crew 
of the Celeste was carried away from the vessel by a 
strange animal of the deep, that suddenly rose from the 
waters and seized them in some of its many long arms 
or tentacles. You know there have been seen in the 
ocean a variety of huge animal something like a 
cuttlefish. This animal is furnished with a number of 
long arms with which it can take hold of people and 
drag them off a vessel. Now, it is just possible that 
this is the explanation of the cause of the disappearance 
of the crew of the Celeste.” 

“ I have read of such an animal,” remarked Jack. 
“ It is sometimes called the kraken, is it not, sir? ” 

“ Yes, my lad,” was the reply. “ I understand it is 
sometimes called by that name.” 

“But how about the boat?” inquired one of the 
crew. 

“ I don’t know,” was the reply. “ It is possible that 
when several of the crew had been dragged off the 
vessel that the rest took the long boat in an endeavor 
to rescue them, when they were also destroyed.” 

“ Hiram,” inquired the man who had been telling 
the story about the kraken, “ what do you think of this 
explanation ? ” 

“ Wall,” was the reply, “ it ain’t so bad. I have 
heerd wonderful stories told uv sech critters. A-many 
years ago, in 1834, Captain Neill, of the full-rigged 
ship Robertson, seed such a critter, and drawed a 
43 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sketch uv her. He sed it war so big that it looked like 
a wessel on her beam-ends. When they drew near it 
they could see its head wot reached twelve feet above 
the water.” 

“ But have such animals ever been known to drag 
men from vessels? ” asked Harold. 

“ Sartin,” replied the boatswain. “ I read once in a 
book that one of these critters suddently rose straight 
out of the waters of the ocean and hi sting its arms 
above the bulwarks of a ship hauled off ten men who 
were working outside the wessel. It then laid hold on 
the shrouds where it captured two other men. It wuz 
at last harpooned and swam away, but it left one of its 
legs which wuz twenty-five feet long.” 

“ Well,” remarked the boys, “ what happened on the 
Celeste was certainly very wonderful. I suppose, how- 
ever, that that is the most wonderful story that was 
ever heard about an abandoned vessel ? ” 

“ Don’t be too sartin,” replied one of the crew. 
“ Hiram, spin the lads the yarn of the Ellen Austin.” 

“ Wait a moment,” replied the boatswain, “ ontil I 
fill my pipe.” 

And when he had done this he began : 

“ This is the treu yarn of a derelict that war seed in 
1 88 1 in the Middle Atlantic by the crew of the Ellen 
Austin. Wot made the Austin think that there wuz 
trouble on board or that there wuz something wrong, 
wuz the unsartin way the wessel was steered ; for, in- 
stead of holding to a treu course, she went so unsartin 
and changed her direction so rediculus thet they 
44 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


knowed something wuz up. It might not have appeared 
so to a landsman, but to sailors it wuz quite different. 
So they sent a crew aboard, and although everything 
wuz found to be right, yet not a trace of the crew wuz 
there. As the wessel wuz worth salvage, the captain 
put a prize crew on board to sail her to New York, and 
the two wessels parted company. Two days arterward, 
to their surprise, the Ellen Austin again sighted the 
derelict and signaled it so as to see if everything was 
right. No answer wuz received, so another crew was 
sent on the derelict. This crew wuz surprised and 
skeered to find that the hull prize crew had disappeared. 
You may bet them fellers tried hard to find their mess- 
mates, but no traces of them could be discivered. Arter 
much trouble the captain of the Ellen Austin persuaded 
a second prize crew to board the wessel. What hap- 
pened to her no one ever discivered, for that wessel 
never reached port.” 

“ Tell the lads about the brig, the Resolven,” sug- 
gested one of the crew. 

“All right,” said the boatswain, “I will be glad; 
fer this here is a queerer yarn than any I have spun ye. 
This here brig, Resolven, left Newfoundland for Lab- 
rador in August, 1884. Three days arterwards the 
British warship Mallard picked her up, but there war 
no crew on board. Her sails war set, her sidelights 
war still burning, and the galley fire war still hot. 
Everything about the wessel wuz in spick and span 
order, but the crew had disappeared, nor hez that crew 
ever bin heerd of since.” 


45 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Seeing the surprise of the boys, the man who had 
told them the stories of the kraken, remarked : 

“ There are strange things that happen on the ocean, 
boys.” 

That evening Harold told his uncle some of the 
yarns he had heard in the forecastle. He was es- 
pecially desirous of finding out whether his uncle be- 
lieved in ghosts. 

“ Mr. Higgenbotham seems to be a believer in 
ghosts, uncle. Of course, there are no such things, are 
there ? ” 

“ No, Arthur,” was the reply. “ No sensible people 
believe now in ghosts or apparitions. At the same 
time there are some strange appearances that have 
never been satisfactorily explained. I don’t believe, 
however, that we have any right to look on them as 
supernatural. Of course, you must not forget that as 
a class sailors are apt to be quite superstitious, and you 
will find among them many who firmly believe in 
ghosts, apparitions, omens, signs, and other similar 
things.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” remarked Harold, “ if you have 
time won’t you please tell us two of the most curious 
cases of derelicts you have ever heard of ? ” 

“Let me think awhile, Harold,” said his uncle laugh- 
ing. “ It is not an easy thing to remember two of the 
most curious things in this line, where there are so 
many, many curious things happening. I think, how- 
ever, I remember two stories that will greatly interest 
both of you.” 


46 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ That’s splendid, uncle,” said Harold, “ let’s have 
them.” 

He then told them the story of a derelict that was 
seen sailing from the frozen Arctic toward the south. 
While there were no living men on the vessel, yet there 
was a number of skeletons. One of them was es- 
pecially horrible to observe, for it was lashed by means 
of a rope to the steering-wheel. Its skeleton hands 
rested on the wheel, while its sightless eyes were seen 
gazing straight ahead. 

He also told them another story of a derelict that 
was seen mounted on the top of an iceberg that also 
came floating southward from the Arctic Ocean. Just 
how the vessel ever got on top of the berg has never 
been satisfactorily explained. It is possible, however, 
he told them, that in some manner the vessel was 
grounded at the base of the iceberg to which it was 
firmly fastened by the rapidly forming ice, and after- 
ward when the berg capsized, as bergs frequently do, 
the vessel was carried to the top. I think it was claimed 
that this vessel was seen lying on her keel mounted on 
the top of the berg. But it is not known how this could 
have occurred, on the assumption that the iceberg had 
merely turned over. 


47 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER IV 
In The Indian Ocean 

Although the Ketrel was bound for Yokohama, 
Japan, via Cape Town, yet when she met the derelict 
she was much nearer the coast of South America than 
that of Africa. The reason was that the Ketrel being a 
sailing vessel, Captain Parker had preferred to take 
this route so as to enable him to take advantage of 
the ocean currents. In the South Atlantic these 
streams, which have properly been called “ the rivers 
of the ocean,” flow toward the south off the eastern 
coast of South America, but toward the north off the 
western coast of Africa. Therefore, though the route 
off the South American coast was much longer than 
that off the coast of Africa, yet by taking the former 
there would be an actual gain in time, since on this 
route the ocean currents would be in the direction in 
which they wished the ship to go, while on the other 
the ocean currents would be against them. 

As the Ketrel approached the continent of Africa 
every one came on deck to get a sight of land. Harold 
and Jack were standing n£ar Lieutenant Harding as 
the vessel drew near the African coast. They were 
now near enough to the continent to see its shore lands. 
The Ketrel was almost directly headed for a point near 
the extreme southwestern point of the continent on 
48 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


which could be seen a low mountain range. The sum- 
mit of the mountain nearest them was unlike those of 
most mountains; for instead of being pointed or 
peaked it was level or flat. 

“ Boys,” said the lieutenant, pointing to the flat-top 
mountain, “ what does the shape of that mountain re- 
mind you of ? ” 

“ Of a big table,” exclaimed Jack. 

“ What do you say, Harold ? ” inquired his uncle. 

“ I agree with Jack; it looks just like a great big 
table.” 

“ You are right,” exclaimed the lieutenant, “ that 
mountain is named from its shape, Table Mountain.” 

“You don’t often see mountains with flat tops 
like that,” exclaimed Harold. “ I should think it 
wouldn’t be hard to remember Table Mountain after 
once seeing it.” 

“ True,” replied his uncle, “ a navigator who has 
once seen the African continent from off the Cape of 
Good Hope should have no difficulty in again recog- 
nizing Table Mountain.” 

“ The Cape of Good Hope,” continued the lieuten- 
ant, “ was discovered in i486, by Bartholomew Diaz, 
a Portuguese navigator. Diaz called it ‘ The Cape of 
Tempests.’ John II, king of Portugal, regarding this 
cape as a goal to the gradual circumnavigation of the 
African continent, changed its name from the Cape of 
Tempests to the Cape of Good Hope. It was Vasco da 
Gama who first doubled this cape on November 20, 
1497, m this wa y reaching the Indian Ocean.” 
d 49 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


When they first sighted Table Mountain the sky was 
clear and free from clouds, and was still in this condi- 
tion when they first began to talk about Table Moun- 
tain. During the next half-hour, however, while they 
were rapidly approaching Cape Town, clouds began 
to form at the edge of the flat top of the mountain, on 
the side from which the wind was blowing. They 
were now near enough to see the mountain clearly 
without the aid of glasses, and could see the white 
cloud masses, carried by the wind, sweep over the top. 
Fresh cloud material being formed on the windward 
side, the entire mountain-top was soon covered by a 
pure white cloud although the lower slopes were still 
distinctly visible. It looked as if some giants, intending 
to use the top of Table Mountain on which to spread 
their lunch, first covered the mountain-top with a 
snowy white tablecloth. 

“ How is that for a picnic ground? ” inquired Jack, 
who was still looking at the mountain-top. 

“ It’s an all right place,” replied Harold laughing. 

“ Yes,” said Lieutenant Harding, “ that’s what the 
sailors think. When a cloud collects on the top of the 
mountain they generally say they are spreading the 
tablecloth for dinner.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ that almost 
looks like magic, doesn’t it ? Here’s a great big cloud 
that suddenly appears on one side of the mountain and 
is then rolled over the top. I remember being told 
while at Eton that clouds were caused by the cooling of 
the air, but I don’t quite understand how it is that this 
50 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


cloud began on one side of the mountain-top and then 
rolled across it until the entire summit was covered. 
It is such a funny shape for a cloud, isn’t it ? It don’t 
seem to extend very high above the mountain, nor does 
it reach far below the top, for we can distinctly see 
the sides of the mountain. Won’t you please explain 
to us how this is? ” 

“ Yes, please do, Lieutenant Harding,” said Jack. 
“ I remember studying about clouds, but I never before 
heard about a cloud like this.” 

“ Like most of the things that occur in nature,” re- 
plied the lieutenant, “ this is easily explained. There is 
always present in the air a quantity of water in the 
shape of invisible vapor. When water is heated it 
evaporates or passes into an invisible condition known 
as vapor. When air containing water vapor is suffi- 
ciently cooled, the vapor becomes visible in the shape of 
minute drops of water, thus forming clouds.” 

“ Yes, uncle,” said Harold, “ I understand that, for 
we studied that much at Eton; but why is it that the 
cloud formed on one side of the mountain and was then 
spread over the top, and why does the cloud only cover 
the top ? ” 

“ That,” replied the lieutenant, “ was because a moist 
wind began to blow up that side of the mountain on 
which the clouds began to form. As the wind was 
forced up the cold slopes of the mountain, it was cooled 
by coming in contact with them, and especially by 
expanding in the upper regions of the air where the 
pressure is lower than at the surface. The chilling or 
5i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


cooling of the air was not sufficient to make the vapor 
visible until it reached the top of the mountain, when 
the cloud began to form. ,, 

“ Oh, I see now,” exclaimed Jack, who had been 
following the explanation closely ; “ and then the wind 
blew the cloud over the top of the table.” 

“ But why did we only see the cloud rolling like a 
wave over the mountain-top?” inquired Harold. 
“ Why did we not see that part of the plateau from 
which the cloud had been rolled away ? ” 

“ Because,” replied Jack, “ more cloud was being 
formed by the wind that was still blowing up the side 
of the mountain.” 

“ That seems to be a very simple explanation, Jack,” 
replied Harold. “ Is Jack right, Uncle Arthur?” he 
said, appealing to the lieutenant. 

“ Yes, Jack’s explanation is capital. I am glad to 
see, Jack,” he continued, “ that you observe such things 
so well and reason about them so clearly.” 

“ I have always liked to study natural science,” re- 
plied Jack. “ There is so much that one can see going 
on around him, especially on a ship like the Ketrel, that 
one can’t help puzzling himself all the time as to just 
how such things are caused. I have often wished to 
ask you or Captain Parker about these things, but 
have been afraid of bothering you.” 

“ Don’t hesitate to ask me, my lad,” was the reply. 
“ Come to me whenever you have any difficulties con- 
cerning such things. I am sure that in most cases 
I can make them plain to you. If I am busy when 
52 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


you come it will only be necessary for you to come 
again.” 

“ I’ll do it,” said Jack eagerly, “ and much obliged to 
you, lieutenant.” 

“ And I’ll come too, uncle,” said Harold. “ I would 
also like to learn about such things.” 

“ I must leave you now, boys,” said the lieutenant. 
w We stop at Cape Town to put off a part of our cargo 
and take in some new goods. There is much to do in 
the way of getting ready.” 

Harold and Jack now walked over to where Mr. 
Higgenbotham was standing. As they approached 
him he said : 

“ I see ye’ve been looking at Table Mountain, my 
lads. Did ye see them spreading the tablecloth fer 
dinner? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Jack, “ we’ve been looking at them.” 

“ I suppose ye’ll agree that what ye hev seed is 
ruther mysterious. Kinder makes ye think of ghosts, 
don’t it? ” he inquired laughing. 

“ Oh, no,” replied Jack; “ you’re only trying to kid 
us, Mr. Higgenbotham. That’s only a cloud and can 
be easily explained.” 

“ Oh,” was the reply, “ there ain’t no difficulty about 
explaining that thar cloud, do ye say? I reckon ye’d 
find it hard ef ye came to try. Ye must allow that it 
don’t act like an ordinary Cloud. It bain’t no sooner 
seed one side of the mountain that it begins to roll over 
the top, but it don’t leave the top bare.” 

“ Oh, well,” exclaimed Jack, “ there’s no trouble 

53 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


about that! ” And then he explained clearly what Mr. 
Harding had just been teaching him. 

The boatswain, although a superstitious man, was 
nevertheless quite intelligent. Indeed, a great deal of 
his superstitious talk was put on as a sort of aid in the 
spinning of yarns, an occupation in which he greatly 
delighted. Jack’s explanation was so clear that the 
boatswain had no difficulty in thoroughly grasping it, 
so he said in an admiring tone : 

“ I jest reckon ye’ve got that thar explanation 
straight. Whar did ye learn that, my lad ? ” 

“ Partly at Eton, the big English preparatory school 
you’ve heard of, but mainly from Lieutenant Harding, 
who has just been telling Harold and myself about 
Table Mountain.” 

“ I like to hear about sech things,” replied the boat- 
swain. “ I never hed the chance to go to school my- 
self ; for I’ve follered the sea almost since I wuz a lad. 
If now and then ye’d explain sech things to me, I’d like 
to hev ye do so, fer I loike to get hold of why things 
happen just as they do.” 

“ I don’t know much, Mr. Higgenbotham,” replied 
Jack, “ but what little I do know I’ll be pleased to try 
to explain to you, and if I can’t do this I will ask Lieu- 
tenant Harding to help me.” 

“ Thank you, my lad, but ez we’ll be in the harbor in 
half an hour I must leave ye now. I suppose ye will 
go ashore at Cape Town,” he added. 

“ Yes,” replied Harold. “ Uncle Arthur promised to 
take both of us to the town as soon as he could get off.” 
54 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


In three-quarters of an hour the Ketrel had dropped 
her anchor in Table Bay, in the harbor of Cape Town. 
This harbor is protected from the ocean by a break- 
water some two thousand feet in length. An hour 
afterward Lieutenant Harding and the two boys were 
landed in the city by one of the ship’s boats. 

Cape Town is situated at the base of Table Moun- 
tain some thirty miles from the Cape of Good Hope. 
It is an important part of the southern extremity of the 
African continent. Cape Town is the largest city in 
Southern Africa, in a district known as Cape Colony. 
The other important seaports are Port Elizabeth, 
Port Arthur, and East London, all of which are 
situated on the southern coast, but nearer its southeast- 
ern end. 

The boys were surprised to find Cape Town so 
closely resembling a European city. There were many 
substantial buildings, a fine library, a museum, sev- 
eral cathedrals, handsome houses of Parliament, gov- 
ernment offices, an observatory, and a botanical garden. 
There was also a railroad station, Cape Town being 
one of the southern termini of the Cairo to Cape Rail- 
road, a railroad connecting Cairo on the Nile in Egypt 
with the extreme southern parts of Africa. 

Cape Town is situated about six hundred miles 
southwest of the great Kimberly diamond mines. 
These are the most productive mines in the world, 
nearly ninety-eight per cent, of the world’s diamond 
supply being obtained from them. There is also in 
Cape Colony, or in the neighboring regions on the 
55 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


north, considerable mineral deposits, in the shape of 
copper, gold, and other metals. 

The Ketrel had carried a fairly large cargo of manu- 
factured goods and hardware for the mining regions. 
There were, therefore, busy times on board in taking 
the goods out of the hold of the vessel and in taking 
on an additional cargo of various goods such as wool, 
ostrich feathers, etc., to be delivered at Yokohama, 
Japan. Since Captain Parker was desirous of making 
the stay at Cape Town as short as possible, he employed 
a number of stevedores to aid in unloading and loading. 
He had, therefore, no difficulty in leaving Cape Town 
about thirty-six hours after they had dropped anchor. 

On leaving Table Bay the Ketrel steered to the south 
and then took an easterly course across the Indian 
Ocean. 

The boys stood alongside Lieutenant Harding lean- 
ing over the taffrail and watching the continent of 
Africa as it grew less and less distinct. 

“ What land will we next sight, Uncle Arthur?” 
inquired Harold. 

“ If everything goes right,” was the reply, “ we 
shall not see any large land mass until we reach the 
continent of Australia.” 

“Do you intend to land at any Australian port?” 
inquired Harold. 

“ No, we shall sail up the western coast of Australia 
at some distance from the land.” 

Nothing especially interesting occurred until they 
sighted the western coast of Australia and had sailed 
56 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


along it for several days. One day, however, while 
Lieutenant Harding was officer in charge of the deck, 
the lookout cried : 

“ There’s a boat adrift on our starboard bow, sir.” 

“ Boatswain,” the lieutenant said to Hiram who was 
in sight, “ man a boat and pick up that derelict.” 

“Aye, aye, sir,” was the reply. 

Harold and Jack who, by this time, had become fa- 
miliar with nautical terms knew that the word star- 
board meant that side of the vessel which is on the 
right-hand side of one who is standing facing the bow, 
the word being employed as the opposite for the word 
larboard or port. They therefore immediately looked 
on their right hand, but were unable to see anything, 
since they were much lower than the lookout at the 
mast-arm. 

“ I wonder whether your uncle would let us go on 
that boat? I’d like to go all right,” whispered Jack to 
Harold. 

“ I don’t know,” replied Harold in a low tone, “ but 
I wouldn’t dare to ask him while he’s on duty ; for you 
remember he told us never to speak to the officer on 
duty unless he speaks first.” 

This knowledge, however, did not prevent the boys 
from looking in a beseeching way to the lieutenant 
who, being a good-natured man and seeing the boys 
were greatly desirous of accompanying the boatswain, 
called to Hiram : 

“ You can take the boys along with you, Hiram, if 
you think they won’t be in the way.” 

5 7 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ All right, sir,” was the reply. “ They’ll not be in 
the way. I’ll be glad to have them go.” 

Both boys shouted with delight and were soon in 
the boat with the boatswain and a crew of four men 
rapidly rowing toward the drifting boat. 

“ So there are derelict boats as well as derelict ships 
or vessels, Mr. Higgenbotham ? ” inquired Jack. 

“ Yes, my lad, but not ez often, fer most open boats 
are apt to fill with water and sink onless some one is 
aboard to handle them right and to bail out what water 
they may ship. In sech boats ye may generally look to 
see a body of one or more dead sailors who hev died 
a-cause they hadn’t enough wittles and drink aboard.” 

They were yet more than a mile from the drifting 
boat, but this distance was quickly decreased, and soon 
Harold, who had been intensely listening to something, 
said in an excited tone : 

“ Mr. Higgenbotham, I hear a dog barking. There 
is probably some one on that boat ! ” 

Hiram listened as did the crew, and said : 

“ I allow you’re right, my lad. There bain’t no 
doubt but what that’s a dog. There may, therefore, 
be some men on the boat; but we’ll soon see.” Then 
turning to the crew, he said : “ Pull harder, my 

hearties; let’s git thar as soon as we kin.” 

They moved rapidly through the water under the 
increased pull, and in a very short time reached the 
drifting boat. There was a dog in her sure enough, 
very much emaciated and with a starved look about 
it, so that it was as much as it could do to pull itself 

58 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


together and stand up, wag its tail, and again begin 
barking. Though much run down for lack of food 
and water they could see that it was a valuable animal. 

“ Oh,” exclaimed Harold, “ what a magnificent 
dog!” 

The poor dog seemed to understand that the boy 
was speaking of it for, rapidly examining the faces 
of all the others, it looked at the lad with its beautiful 
eyes, gave a glad bark, shaking its tail as if begging 
for his friendship. 

The dog was a splendid specimen of a full-blooded 
collie. It had a coat of long, flat, thick hair, a long 
tapering head, small partially erect ears, and a slightly 
curved tail. Its color was black and white. The ears 
and back of the head were black, and the forelegs, the 
front of the face, a large portion of the neck, especially 
in front, and the tip of its tail, snow white. The rest 
of the body was a jet black. 

Their boat was soon alongside the drifting boat 
against which it was held by one of the crew. As soon 
as the two boats touched, the strange dog jumped into 
the Ketrel’s boat, dragged itself to where Harold was 
sitting and lay down at his feet, as if it had chosen him 
for his new master, and began feebly wagging its tail. 

“ Poor doggie,” said Harold patting the animal’s 
head, “ where did you come from ? Are you glad we 
have picked you up ? ” 

If the shaking of its tail and its bark meant anything 
it would certainly seem as if the dog was trying to 
show how very glad it was to be with people again, 
59 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


and be taken out of the boat in which it had apparently 
suffered so much. 

In the meantime the boatswain had made a careful 
examination of the drifting boat. There was nobody 
on board and nothing whatever in the boat, not even 
its oar-locks. It had evidently not been occupied by 
any one except the dog. 

“ How do you suppose the boat got adrift, Mr. 
Higgenbotham ? ” inquired Harold. 

At this time the boatswain was carefully examining 
the painter or rope at the bow of the boat by which 
it had been fastened. 

“ Can’t say for sartin, my lad. There ain’t nothing 
on the boat thet shows people hev been in it. Thar’s 
no oar-locks or oars. I calc’late it has been cast 
adrift by the chafing of the painter while the dog wuz 
asleep in it. Wall, thar’s nothing more to be done 
here so we’ll get back to the ship.” 

Both boys had been petting the dog when Harold 
said: 

“ What shall we call you, doggie, “ what’s your 
name? ” 

The animal seemed to understand what was said to 
it, for looking straight into the eyes of the boy, he 
stood up and began to rub his head against the boy’s 
hand so as to bring it in contact with a collar placed 
around its neck which had been hidden by the fur of 
the animal. 

“ See that,” cried one of the men, “ the animal 
acturally seems to onderstand what the lad said to him. 
60 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


See if thar’s any name on the collar,” he said to 
Harold. 

“ There is indeed,” was the reply, reading the name 
“ Rompey ” in English on the collar. 

“ So your name’s Rompey, is it? ” inquired Jack. 

The animal commenced to shake its tail and express 
its joy at its name being thus known. 

“ He’s certainly a splendid dog,” exclaimed Harold. 
“ I wonder if we can find his owner? ” he inquired of 
the boatswain. 

Hiram laughed. 

“ I onderstand ye, my lad,” he said, “ ye’d like to 
keep the animal and are afeered lest the owner may 
turn up. Wall, I reckon ye don’t need to give yerself 
any anxiety about that. We are here so fur from land 
and this boat has been drifting so long that I calculate 
no one is apt to claim the critter.” 

“ I wonder whether Uncle Arthur will let me keep 
the dog and take it with us to Japan? ” he inquired 
of Jack. 

“ I think he will, and I will ask the captain to let you 
have it.” 

“ I guess the dog must be both hungry and thirsty,” 
said Harold. 

“ Try and see,” said one of the men. 

As is well known, both water and provisions are 
always placed in a boat by a careful commander, even 
if it is to be absent from the ship but for a short time. 
So many things may happen at sea that it would be 
taking risks to do otherwise. So Harold gave the 
61 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


animal some water in a tin pail. The poor animal was 
indeed quite thirsty and greedily lapped the water, 
shaking his tail and every now and then stopping to lick 
his hand so as to show his gratitude. 

“ Now, doggie, I’ll give you something to eat,” said 
Jack, taking a piece of ship’s biscuit out of his pocket, 
breaking it into pieces and giving it to the dog which 
greedily ate it, and then went to the tin pail and 
wagging its tail plainly asked for another drink of 
water. 

“ You’d better not guv him too much food at first,” 
said the boatswain. “ Animals, like men, when they eat 
too much food arter a long fast may die.” 

They had now reached the ship which they boarded, 
and the drifting boat was then drawn on deck. There 
was no name on it, but under the bow the figure “ 23 ” 
was seen. 

“ No wonder that boat got adrift,” said Jack laugh- 
ing ; “ that’s the skiddoo number. Do you suppose that 
was the name of the boat or merely the number of a 
lot of similar boats ? ” 

“ Tain’t likely, my lad,” replied the boatswain, 
“ that thar was any one who had twenty-three boats.” 

The boys went directly to beg the captain and the 
lieutenant to permit them to keep the dog. It hap- 
pened that Lieutenant Harding was the first to be seen, 
so Harold immediately said : 

“ O Uncle Arthur, see the poor dog that we found 
in the drifting boat. He’s a magnificent animal. 
Won’t you please let me keep him. He has made 
62 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


great friends with me. He immediately came and laid 
himself down at my feet when he jumped into our 
boat. He is a wonderfully intelligent dog.” 

There could be no doubt as to the intelligence of the 
animal. He appeared to know that the lad was asking 
permission to keep him, for he came to the lieutenant 
and placing his paws on his shoulder, looked into his 
eyes, or at least reaching his face as near as he could 
to the lieutenant’s, began to lick his hands and utter 
a plaintive cry as if begging that he agree to Harold’s 
request. 

“ The animal is certainly very intelligent,” said the 
lieutentant, “ and seems to have some idea of what is 
going on. I have no objection at all, Harold, to your 
keeping the animal, but of course the captain’s per- 
mission must be obtained.” 

“ Come, Jack,” said Harold, “ I’ve done my part. 
Now let’s go to the captain and beg his permission.” 

Jack had no trouble in getting the captain’s per- 
mission for, like all Englishmen, he was a great lover 
of dogs, so he at once said : 

“ Certainly, Jack, Harold can keep him. The dog 
appears to be a splendid animal. He’s a full-blooded 
collie, a species of dog that when intelligent can be 
taught wonderful tricks.” 

The captain had no sooner said tricks than the 
dog seemed to understand him, for he at once looked at 
the captain as if to say : 

“ Yes, I can do tricks,” and stood on its hind legs 
and then tried to walk. He was still too weak to do 

63 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


much of this, so he then showed them his next trick 
in which he lay down pretending to be dead and then 
afterward jumping up and shaking his tail. 

The captain laughed heartily at the antics of the 
dog and said : 

“ You have a wonderful dog there, Harold, and 
I don’t doubt but that you will soon be able to teach 
him many new tricks. You have my full permission 
to keep him. Of course, if his owner should ever 
turn up and wishes him back again you must give him 
up. I don’t think, however, there is much chance of 
this ever happening, so you can properly regard the 
animal as your own.” 

By careful feeding Rompey soon recovered his full 
strength and became a great favorite with every one 
on the ship, especially with the boys, but it was evident 
that Harold was the dog’s favorite from the moment 
that he first saw him on the boat. 

“ Harold,” said his uncle one day, as he stood look- 
ing at the dog playing with the boys, “ I’m almost cer- 
tain that Rompey’s former master was a young boy 
like yourself. Possibly the boy somewhat resembled 
you, and for this reason the dog has taken to you 
rather than to any of the others.” 

“ If that is so,” replied Harold, “ I’d like to know 
that boy, for he certainly treated his dog all right.” 


64 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER V 

In the Sea of Java and the China Sea 

One day, some time after the finding of the drifting 
boat, Lieutenant Harding told the boys that if noth- 
ing went wrong they would sight the Strait of Sunda 
next morning. 

“ Come into the chartroom,” he said, “ and I will 
point out where this body of water is situated. 

“ As you see,” he remarked, pointing it out to them 
on the chart, “ it is a small passage of water that 
separates the islands of Sumatra and Java; Sumatra 
being on the west and Java on the east.” 

“How large is the channel, lieutenant?” inquired 
Jack. 

“ About one hundred miles long and twenty miles 
wide at its narrowest part,” was the reply. “ Since it 
separates the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and lies 
nearly in the direct route to China and Java by way of 
the China Sea, many vessels pass through it. The 
chances are we will pass a number of vessels to-mor- 
row when we sail through it.” 

“ When do you think we will sight the coasts of 
Sumatra and Java, uncle?” 

“ Sometime near sunrise,” was the reply. “ You 
must be up early if you wish to get the first view of it.” 

The boys were up bright and early. Going at once 
E 65 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


on the deck they found the lieutenant looking over 
the starboard taffrail near the bow. As the boys ap- 
proached he said: 

“ Good morning, my lads, up early to get a sight 
of land ? ” and pointing to a long dim line on the 
horizon, he said : “ That is the island of Java, and 
that,” he said, again pointing to another line toward 
the west, “ is the island of Sumatra.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” inquired Harold, “ about when 
will we be in the channel ? ” 

“ Sometime between nine and ten o’clock this morn- 
ing,” he answered. Looking at his watch he added, 
“ There’s several hours before that time, so let’s go 
and get something to eat.” 

This was an invitation a healthy, growing boy never 
turns down, so they were soon in the cabin eating a 
good breakfast. When they had finished, Jack said : 

“ Lieutenant, do you mind if Harold and I go to 
the charthouse? I would like to look up the names 
of the different islands near the Strait of Sunda.” 

“ Not at all,” was the reply. “ Come, I’ll go with 
you and give you a short lesson on the geography of 
this part of the world.” 

They were soon bending over the chart that con- 
tained the information they desired. 

“ As you see,” remarked the lieutenant, “ the island 
of Sumatra lies near the peninsula of Malacca, or the 
Malay Peninsula, from which it is separated by the 
Straits of Malacca. Java lies south of Sumatra. Su- 
matra and Java, together with many neighboring 
66 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


islands, belong to a group called the Sunda Islands. 
The Strait of Sunda takes its name from this island 
chain. North of the Sunda Islands is another island 
chain consisting mainly of the islands of Borneo, 
Celebes, Gilolo, Ceram, and Papua, while still farther 
to the north are the Philippines. These island chains 
are known as the East Indies. As you can see, the 
East Indies lie between the continents of Asia and 
Australia/’ 

“ I want,” said Jack, “ to look up the name given to 
the body of water at the northern end of the Strait of 
Sunda.” 

“ As I told you the other day,” said the lieutenant, 
“ the Strait of Sunda connects the Indian Ocean on 
the south with the Pacific Ocean on the north. That 
part of the Pacific Ocean, however, which connects 
with the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Sunda is 
sometimes known as the China Sea although, perhaps, 
more correctly is called the Sea of Java. I think it is 
better to use for it the name Sea of Java, and the name 
China Sea for the part that lies between China, Ma- 
lacca, Borneo, and the Philippine Islands.” 

About half-past nine the Ketrel was sailing through 
the Strait of Sunda. They passed several vessels sail- 
ing in the opposite direction, and could see two others 
that were moving in the same direction as themselves. 
The lieutenant, pointing to a little island thirty miles to 
the west of the island of Java, handed his field-glasses 
to Jack and said : 

“ Take a good look at that little island, and then 

67 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


give the glasses to Harold. It is a very remarkable bit 
of land. I wish you to look at it carefully.” 

When they had done this Harold turned to his 
uncle and remarked : 

“ Well, Uncle Arthur, we have both seen it. It’s 
quite small and don’t seem to be remarkable.” 

“ What is its name? ” inquired Jack. 

“ It is the island of Krakatoa,” was the reply. 

The boys again looked at the island and now noted 
that some smoke was escaping from one of its moun- 
tains. Jack then said : 

“ I remember reading about that island, lieutenant. 
It is volcanic, ain’t it? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ that little island has be- 
come celebrated throughout the world by reason of 
a wonderful volcanic eruption that occurred on it 
during August, 1883.” 

“ Please tell us something about this eruption, will 
you, sir? ” asked Jack. 

“ I’ll be glad to do so, my lad. It’s a very interesting 
story,” he added. “ Though a volcanic island, yet 
before the eruption of 1883, Krakatoa had not been in 
eruption since the year 1660. The people who lived 
in that part of the world, either thought that it had 
never been a volcano, or if it had been one, would 
never again erupt; that is, they thought it had be- 
come extinct. They discovered their mistake in Au- 
gust, 1883, when the inhabitants of Batavia, Java, at a 
distance of about one hundred miles to the northeast 
of Krakatoa, were alarmed by noises like the firing 
68 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


of great guns. These explosions were accompanied by 
a trembling of the earth’s crust that caused the houses 
to shake. But in Java there are so many volcanoes 
that neither the explosions nor the shakings of the 
earth greatly alarmed the people exdept at first, espe- 
cially as these noises soon ceased and the tremblings 
stopped. 

“ They should have known that the noises and trem- 
blings were nature’s warnings of a coming great erup- 
tion. On the twenty-sixth of August, 1883, the awful 
sounds were again heard, and the earth began to 
quake violently. The next morning, after spending 
most of the night in the streets, the people found that 
the heavens were so covered with clouds that when the 
time came for sunrise there was very little light; in- 
deed, the darkness increased so that it was soon neces- 
sary to light the lamps in the streets and houses. 
Clouds of ashes now began to fall from the sky, cover- 
ing the roofs of the houses and the streets of the city 
with thick layers. Shortly afterward the most tre- 
mendous explosion occurred.” 

“ What was the sound like, uncle ? ” exclaimed 
Harold. “ Was it as loud as the discharge of a big 
cannon ? ” 

“ Very much louder, Harold,” was the reply. “ But 
you must not suppose that there was a single explo- 
sion or crash and that then all was over. On the con- 
trary, the explosions followed one another so rapidly 
that they produced an almost continuous roar, the 
loudness of which was greater than has probably ever 
69 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


occurred before on the earth while it has been inhabited 
by man.” 

“ I suppose these sounds were so great that they 
could be heard at a great distance from the volcano,” 
remarked Jack. 

“ Yes,” was the reply. “ You will be surprised to 
know that some of them were so very loud that they 
could be heard at a distance of nearly three thousand 
miles from Krakatoa. That is, if the eruption had 
taken place in the city of New York or Boston, the 
sounds could have been heard in Paris or London.” 

“ The volcanic eruption of Krakatoa,” continued the 
lieutenant, “ was of a kind known as an explosive erup- 
tion. Instead of the lava quietly rising in the crater 
and flowing over the top, or escaping through an 
opening lower down on the side of the mountain, there 
was a tremendous explosion or a series of explosions, 
and the lava was thrown upward in the form of ashes, 
some of which are believed to have reached a height 
of twenty-one thousand miles above the top of the 
mountain.” 

“What are volcanic ashes, lieutenant?” inquired 
Jack. “ How are they formed ? ” 

“ When molten rock or lava is thrown far up into 
the air,” was the reply, “ it is broken into small pieces 
that harden on cooling and fall to the ground as ashes. 
Sometimes these ashes are still so hot that they emit 
a dull red light as they fall through the air.” 

“ It must have taken a long time for the finer ashes 
to settle down from a distance of twenty-one thousand 
70 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


miles above the top of the volcano and to have reached 
the earth’s surface again,” said Jack. 

“ It did, indeed, Jack. How long do you think it 
was before these ashes finally settled on the earth leav- 
ing the air clear? ” 

“ I guess it must have taken a long time, possibly 
several hours.” 

“ How long do you think, Harold ? ” turning to his 
nephew. 

“ It must have taken a long time, but I don’t think it 
took as long a time as Jack says.” 

“ You are both way off,” replied the lieutenant. “ It 
was over a year before all the ashes reached the earth’s 
surface. Of course, I mean the finer ashes; or, as 
they are generally called, the volcanic dust; for this 
material is so light that it floats for a long time in the 
air, and even when it does gradually fall, and thus 
comes nearer the surface, it is apt to be again caught 
by the winds and carried from place to place.” 

“ How could they know the ashes remained in the 
air?” inquired Jack. 

“ Do you ever remember, Jack,” was the reply, “ the 
air being so hazy that you could look directly at the 
sun without blinking? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” was the reply, “ I remember several 
times during the autumn when the air was so filled with 
haze that I could look directly at the sun that appeared 
of a deep blood-red color.” 

“ Well, Jack, in most such cases this appearance is 
due to the presence of minute smoke particles in the 
7i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


air probably caused by forest fires. Now, for at least 
a year after the eruption of Krakatoa there was a haze 
in the air over nearly all parts of the world. The sun 
appeared like a huge red ball moving through the skies, 
and at the same time there were most gorgeous sunset 
and sunrise colors of the heavens due to the presence 
of fine particles of volcanic dust. 

“ But,” continued the lieutenant, “ there were many 
other wonderful effects caused by this eruption. Im- 
mense waves were formed in the ocean that traveled 
nearly around the world. Some of these were from 
sixty to eighty feet high and caused great damage 
to the shipping as well as to the towns near the sea- 
coasts. No less than thirty thousand people lost their 
lives by these waves. Some of the waves were so 
powerful that on parts of the coast of Java they tore 
huge stones weighing nearly forty tons up from the 
bed of the ocean and flung them far into the interior.” 

“ One would hardly think,” said Harold, “ that so 
small an island as Krakatoa,” at which he was then 
looking through the field-glasses, “ would be able to do 
so much damage.” 

“ You can’t always judge the amount of mischief 
that there is in anything from its size,” replied the 
lieutenant smiling. 

“ Do you mean that for me, uncle ? ” inquired 
Harold laughing. 

“ Possibly,” was the reply. 

The Ketrel passed safely through the Strait of 
Sunda and entered the Java Sea, and in due course of 
72 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


time it was sailing through the China Sea in a general 
northerly course. As they were about entering the 
waters of the China Sea the boatswain approached 
Harold and Jack who were standing near the stern of 
the vessel watching the wake or track in the ocean 
which the ship made in passing through its waters, and 
pointing to a small object that could be occasionally 
seen projecting a short distance above the surface, said : 

“ Kin ye see thet, boys ? ” 

“ Yes, sir, what is it? ” inquired Jack. 

“ It’s a shark. Thet feller is liable to foller us fer 
many miles. I hev watched him doin’ this fer the last 
half-hour.” 

“ Well,” said Harold laughing, “ he don’t scare me, 
Mr. Higgenbotham. Mr. Shark can do us no harm as 
long as we remain on the brig.” 

“ I don’t gainsay ye, my lad,” said the boatswain ; 
“ but I’m free to confess thet I don’t like to see a shark 
follering the Ketrel. Ye must know thet all sailors are 
agreed it’s a bad sign fer a shark to foller a ship. It 
a’most alius means trouble to some of the crew. Some 
one is goin’ to die or fall overboard, or something is 
goin’ to happen to the ship.” 

Notwithstanding the croakings of Hiram, the boat- 
swain, nothing did immediately happen to the ship; 
but several days afterward, while still in the China 
Sea, the boys, who were sitting in the cabin near the 
open door where they could hear much of what was 
going on on deck, were greatly surprised to hear the 
captain, who was on deck, ordering the sails of the 
73 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


vessel to be doubled-reefed. As there was almost no 
wind stirring they could not understand this order, so 
taking the first opportunity when the lieutenant was 
disengaged they asked him the reason for double- 
reefing the sails when there was no wind. 

“ The barometer is very low, boys,” he said, “ and 
is still falling. Jack, I have taught you to read the 
barometer. Go into the cabin and tell me at what 
height the mercury is now standing.” 

“ It is at twenty-nine and thirty-four hundredths of 
an inch (29.34), sir,” said Jack on his return. 

“ Then it has fallen two-tenths of an inch since I last 
saw it half an hour ago.” 

“ Do you think we’re going to have a storm? ” asked 
Harold, for both boys understood that a falling ba- 
rometer generally indicated a high wind or storm. 

“ Yes, my boys, we all think that there is going to 
be a severe storm. Come with me into the cabin,” 
added the lieutenant some fifteen minutes afterward, 
“ I want to see if the barometer is still falling.’ 

“ An examination of the glass showed that the 
column now stood at 29.13 inches. 

“ The storm is certainly coming,” exclaimed the lieu- 
tenant. “ I must go on deck with the captain ! ” 

The boys followed the lieutenant to the deck where 
they found unusual activity. The captain was giving 
orders, getting everything in readiness to meet the 
storm. To an untrained eye there did not seem to be 
any cause for anxiety. The ocean was calm and glassy, 
and the air quiet, though exceedingly sultry from the 
74 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


large quantity of water vapor it contained. But the 
wind soon began to blow, mildly at first, but gradually 
increasing in violence, while the sky became overcast 
with clouds. During the next half-hour the barometer 
showed a height of 28. 1 1 inches, or over an inch lower 
than it was about half an hour previously. The thin 
hazy clouds rapidly increased and became dark masses. 
The rain began to fall heavily, and the violence of the 
wind greatly increased. 

It was now late in the month of July, a time when 
severe storms are common in this part of the ocean. 
The storm that had broken was of the kind called in 
those parts a typhoon, a variety of whirling storm gen- 
erally known elsewhere as a cyclone. In cyclonic 
storms the wind moves in vast eddies or whirls around 
an area where there is no wind and in which the barom- 
eter is low. Such storms are called hurricanes in the 
West Indies, typhoons in the China Sea and, as al- 
ready stated, are generally known as cyclones by rea- 
son of the circling or whirling motion of the wind. 

But besides their whirling motion cyclonic storms 
advance rapidly over a curved path, the shape of which 
is that of a curve called a parabola. In the Northern 
Hemisphere the direction of this curved path is toward 
the northwest near the place where the storm begins, 
and continues in this direction until it reaches about 
latitude 30° N., when it turns and begins to move 
toward the northeast. 

It is a matter of considerable importance to the 
safety of a vessel that its captain learns the position of 
75 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the calm center of the storm, and then endeavors, as far 
as possible, to prevent the ship being blown into this 
place, for it is at the edge of the calm center that the 
wind blows the most fiercely and changes its direction 
in its whirling path so rapidly that before the vessel 
can alter her position as regards the wind she is apt 
to be wrecked. The captain, therefore, instead of per- 
mitting his ship to sail on with the wind, boldly steers 
her away from this center to the outer circumference of 
the whirling mass. 

In order to determine the position of the calm center 
one must remember the direction in which the wind 
rotates. This is always the same in the same hemi- 
sphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, for example, the 
storm rotates in a direction opposite to that of the 
hands of a clock, while in the Southern Hemisphere 
it rotates in the same direction as the hands of a clock. 
If, therefore, one turns so as to take the wind in his 
teeth, that is, directly in his face, if he is in the North- 
ern Hemisphere the calm center will be on his right, 
while if in the Southern Hemisphere it will be on his 
left; and as soon as he learns this rotation he boldly 
steers toward the circumference of the storm. 

As soon as the storm struck the Ketrel Captain 
Parker ascertained the position of the calm center, 
steering the ship so as to cross the storm and reach 
its circumference. He was fully aware of the great 
danger of permitting the ship to pass through the “ eye 
of the storm ” as the calm center is called. It was 
during this time that the ship encountered huge waves 
76 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


that struck her sides with enormous force, greatly 
straining her timbers. The ship began to leak badly, 
and the order was given to man the pumps with as 
many men as could be spared from the sailing of the 
ship. 

The wind which had now increased in velocity at last 
became so strong that the three masts were snapped off* 
close to the deck. They fell over the bulwarks of the 
vessel, and being held in place by the rigging, com- 
menced to pound the ship’s sides savagely, and to punch 
holes in them. 

In order to remove this new danger the captain or- 
dered some of the crew to cut away the rigging, first 
to the leeward, and then as soon as this was done to 
cut it away at the windward. This last operation was 
by far the more dangerous, but was happily done with- 
out any loss of life. The danger from the pounding 
of the spars was thus removed. A still greater danger 
was now presented. The vessel, deprived of her sails, 
no longer promptly answered to her rudder and began 
to drift, and huge waves struck her again and again 
dangerously straining her timbers. At this moment 
one of the crew approached the captain and reported : 

“ Officer in charge of the pumps, sir, reports the 
water gaining in the well.” 

The captain gave orders to send additional men to 
the pumps. By this time, having practically. crossed the 
storm, the immediate danger from the waves was over, 
though every now and then the ship, still continuing to 
drift, was struck by fairly heavy seas. 

77 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Throughout the entire storm the heavy rain which 
fell was accompanied by severe lightning flashes. 
About this time an unusually heavy bolt struck the ship 
and evidently set fire to her, for another of the crew 
approached the captain and cried : 

“ Lieutenant reports the vessel afire, sir.” 

“ Boatswain, pipe all hands on deck except those at 
the pumps to fight fire.” 

This was promptly done, but it was evident that the 
fire, fanned as it was by the furious wind, and despite 
the heavy rain that was falling, was gaining on them. 

At that moment another man approached the captain 
and said : 

“ Officer in charge of pumps, sir, reports the vessel 
sinking.” 

The captain convinced that the ship was practically 
lost reluctantly gave the following order : 

“ Man the boats ! Boatswain, see that plenty of 
water, food, and other necessary things are placed in 
them.” 

There was great activity on board as additional food 
and water were hurriedly placed in the boats and the 
boats lowered from the davits. The captain divided the 
•crew into separate parties, assigning them to the dif- 
ferent boats. As there were no passengers aboard, and 
the crew was under excellent discipline, there was no 
difficulty in having this done in an orderly manner, so 
that in a comparatively short time the boats, safely 
launched, were pulling away from the vessel which was 
evidently rapidly sinking. The captain’s boat was the 

78 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


last to leave the Ketrel, and when it had joined the 
other boats, that were pulling slowly, at a distance of 
about seven hundred feet from the vessel, they could 
see her, staggering like a wounded animal, suddenly 
disappear, being swallowed up in the ocean. 

The captain, addressing the officers in charge of the 
other boats, said : 

“ We’ll try to make the China coast which I believe 
lies only a few hundred miles to the west. My boat 
will lead the way and the others will follow. Lieuten- 
ant Harding, keep your boat at the end of the line.” 

The boats were rowed in a more or less straight line 
following the captain’s, and so continued late into the 
night, they having left the ship about five o’clock in 
the afternoon. 

Although the storm had now almost passed, the sea 
continued rough, so the crews at the oars were obliged 
to labor hard in order to keep the boats from receiving 
the waves broadside. Even as it was, the boats would 
occasionally ship considerable water so that it was 
necessary to constantly bail the water out of them. 

In the boat commanded by Lieutenant Harding there 
were present besides the lieutenant, the boatswain Hig- 
genbotham, the two boys, and two of the crew. The 
question of permitting Rompey to go with them was 
settled by the dog himself ; for waiting until they were 
about to leave, he sprang into the boat as the last man 
of its crew had entered, and going at once to Harold 
he quietly laid himself down at the lad’s feet as if 
quite assured that his master would not desert him. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The lieutenant looked for a moment both at his 
nephew and at the dog apparently hesitating whether 
he was justified in permitting the animal to remain, but 
he apparently concluded to say nothing, and giving the 
order to the men the boat was soon pulled away from 
the ship. 

During the night a second storm burst upon them.* 
Fortunately this was much less severe than the ty- 
phoon, and was one of the storms that so often follow 
in the wake of cyclones. It continued with a sky over- 
cast for five long days, during nearly all of which they 
were prevented by a headwind from making much 
progress toward the China coast. At times it seemed as 
if their boat must be swallowed by the heavy waves that 
struck it. Indeed, these were so strong that two of 
the crew were washed overboard and lost. On both of 
these occasions Rompey only escaped being swept over- 
board because Harold held tightly on to him as well as 
to the boat. 

The boys had plenty of hard work to keep the boat 
from swamping by continual bailing. During all this 
time it was necessary to keep both men at the oars, 
although at times Jack insisted on relieving the lieu- 
tentant, who then took his turn in bailing. 

It is not our intention to describe the details of that 
awful voyage in the open boat. For five long days they 
were battling with the waves. The men were at the 
oars and the two boys at hard work bailing. It is un- 
necessary to say that during all this time they en- 
deavored to make their position known to the other 
80 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


boats by loud hurrahing, and occasionally by firing 
their rifles and revolvers, but they received no answer. 
It was evident they had become hopelessly separated 
from the other boats. 

The discipline on board the Ketrel had been too good 
to prevent any mistakes having been made in placing 
sufficient water and food in the boats, so that they did' 
not suffer either from hunger or thirst during their 
long voyage in the open boat. 

During all this time the sky had been so overcast 
that it had been impossible to take any observation of 
the sun and thus determine their position. Of course, 
the lieutenant had kept in his mind the general direc- 
tion of the boat, so that he had some idea as to what 
their position was. 


F 


81 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER VI 

Destruction of the Boat 

A few hours after midnight, on the fifth day from the 
time of their leaving the ship, the wind had almost com- 
pletely died down and the storm was nearly over. 
There was no longer any necessity for bailing the boat, 
so the lieutenant insisted that the boys should rest for 
a while. So lying down in the bottom of the boat they 
were soon in a deep sleep with Rompey watching them. 
There was now no difficulty in keeping the head of 
the boat directed so as to receive the waves on her bow, 
hence the two men also rested themselves by rowing 
more leisurely. While in this position, and while al- 
most dozing from exhaustion, they were suddenly 
aroused by the loud barking of Rompey. The next 
moment a dark object suddenly loomed before them, 
and their boat received a severe blow near its bow, thus 
turning it sharply around. 

“ We have been struck by a derelict,” cried the lieu- 
tenant, at once realizing what had happened. 

As the boat swung around he caught hold of the 
side of the hulk, bidding the boatswain do the same. 
They were thus able to secure their boat to the derelict 
by attaching the painter near its stern. 

In the meanwhile both the barking of Rompey and 
the blow received from the derelict awakened the boys. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ What’s the matter?” they inquired of the lieu- 
tenant. 

“ We’ve been struck by a derelict,” was the reply. 

“ What can we do to help? ” asked Jack. 

“ Try to keep the boat from sinking by bailing, while 
the boatswain and I get our provisions and other stuff 
on the deck of the derelict,” he said to the boys. He 
then turned to the boatswain and said : “ Boatswain, 
can you reach the deck? ” 

“ Aye, aye, sir ; I think I ken reach it by this here 
chain.” 

The boatswain, who was as agile as a cat, soon 
reached the deck. The lieutenant then threw to him the 
end of a spare rope and at once began to tie some of 
their food and other things to one of its ends, the 
boatswain rapidly hauling them up to the deck and 
throwing the rope down again for another load. In 
the meantime the boys had plenty to do to keep the boat 
from sinking, for she was leaking badly. At last every- 
thing was out of the boat, even the water-butts. 

“ Now, boys,” said the lieutenant, “ I know you can 
easily go up that chain onto the deck of the derelict.” 

“ We can,” was Harold’s reply, “ but won’t you first 
sling the rope around Rompey so as to haul him to the 
deck?” 

“ Yes, I think that can be done,” said the lieutenant, 
“ if the animal don’t struggle too much.” 

Harold spoke encouragingly to the dog while the 
lieutenant passed the end of the rope around his body 
immediately back of the forelegs, and he was soon 

83 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


safely hauled on the deck, Jack and Harold following 
him. By the time they reached the deck, observing 
that their boat was nearly filled to the gunwale with 
water, the lieutenant fastened the end of the rope they 
had been using for hauling their goods on the deck to 
the stern of the boat and said to the boatswain : 

“ Make fast your end to something on deck, boat- 
swain,” and was soon with his companions on the deck 
of the derelict. “ If the boat holds until to-morrow,” 
he said, “ we will do what we can to get her aboard.” 

As soon as they had all reached the deck the lieuten- 
ant said : “ Let us thank God for the mercies he has 
shown us during the past five days of peril.” 

It was long after three o’clock in the morning when 
they reached the deck of the derelict. It was still too 
dark to see either the kind of a vessel on which they 
had climbed or its condition, so they remained on deck 
waiting for the rising of the sun or at least the breaking 
of the day. While there the lieutenant said : 

“ Now we have left the Ketrel and are cast away on 
a derelict, we must agree on the one who shall lead the 
party. There must be a head if we are to act in- 
telligently and are to lose no chance for escaping.” 

“ All right,” replied the boatswain, “ you are natur- 
ally the one fer our captain, so I wote fer ye.” 

“ And so do we,” replied the boys. 

“ Then,” said the lieutenant, “ I’ll take command 
and shall of course expect prompt obedience. There 
are so few of us, however, that I don’t think it will 
be necessary to make very severe rules.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Shall we call you captain now? ” inquired Jack. 

“ Sartin,” said Hiram, “ and call me Hiram. I’ll 
call the boys Mr. Harold and Mr. John.” 

“ Oh, no,” said Jack, “ if you must call me mister, 
please call me Mr. Jack.” 

“ All right,” was the reply. 

The morning broke with a clear sky and bright sun- 
light. The storm had now completely died away, and 
the ocean was fairly free from waves. There was a 
low bank of clouds on the eastern horizon. Some 
cirrus or curl clouds in the higher regions of the atmos- 
phere were lighted up with the beautiful colors of the 
sunrise. These colors being reflected by the waves 
made a picture that was all the more beautiful by com- 
parison with the dark skies and the gloomy waters of 
the past five days. 

“ One can hardly believe,” said the lieutenant, “ that 
these are the same heavens and waters that were so 
stormy and inhospitable only a short time ago.” 

Of course they carefully searched the horizon with 
their field-glasses to see if there were any traces of 
their companions. But there was nothing in sight. 
This caused them great sorrow, for they all had friends 
on the missing boats. Jack was especially worried, 
since in the short time he had been with Captain 
Parker, his guardian, he had learned to like him very 
much. 

“ I wonder whether Captain Parker’s boat and the 
other boats escaped the storm,” said Jack addressing 
Hiram. 


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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I kain’t say, Mr. Jack,” was the reply; “ but Cap- 
tain Parker is a good sailor and there bain’t no reason 
why t’other boats shouldn’t hev escaped as well as 
ourn.” 

“ What do you think, Uncle Arthur ? ” exclaimed 
Harold. 

“ I think the chances are that the other boats have 
escaped. The long boat which was commanded by 
Captain Parker was provided with water-tight com- 
partments and was, therefore, much less likely to sink 
than the smaller boat we had. But let us see whether 
our boat has followed us during the night.” 

On looking over the side of the derelict they saw 
that only the ends of the ropes by which the boat had 
been secured to the stern were hanging loosely over 
the side of the vessel. The weight of the water in the 
boat had evidently been too great for the ropes, so 
that the boat had apparently broken loose during the 
night. 

“ I’m sorry to have lost our boat,” said Captain 
Harding. “ We might have mended it and thus have 
had a chance of reaching the nearest land to which the 
derelict might take us in her wanderings.” 

The morning light had of course shown them that 
the derelict, that had first nearly drowned them and 
afterward offered them a safe and comfortable place to 
live in for a while, was a brig — a name given to a two- 
masted, square-rigged vessel. The brig had evidently 
been through a severe storm, though not one of recent 
date. From its general appearance it had apparently 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


been drifting in the ocean for a long time. Both masts 
were broken off close to the surface of the deck, the 
splintered ends being left projecting upward. The 
bowsprit was nearly entire. It was a standing bow- 
sprit, that is, one fixed permanently in its place. Of 
course, the rigging in this and in other parts of the brig 
was entirely missing. All the rails were uninjured, 
though in some places they had been weakened by the 
waves. The decks too appeared to be water-tight. 
The quarter-deck was raised, the cabin being in the 
poop. 

Between the cabin and the stern there was a small 
passageway which separated it from a charthouse. 

The forecastle deck, or the name given to the fore- 
most part of the upper deck, underneath which the 
sailors had their berths, also appeared to be in good 
condition. Both the captain and Hiram noticed when 
they began to look around that all the doors in the 
elevated parts of the ship, as well as the hatches or 
openings through the deck with the exception of that 
opening into the forecastle, were closed and covered by 
tarpaulins that were battened down over them. The 
door of the cabin was closed but not locked. 

“ I allow the crew warn’t in much of a hurry when 
they left,” remarked Hiram to the captain. 

“ No,” was the reply, “ they took time to fasten 
everything down so as to keep the water out as long 
as possible. That’s another reason why the brig floats 
so high in the water. Let’s see in what condition her 
rudder is,” continued the captain. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Her rudder hez been carried away,” said Hiram, 
who had climbed over the taffrail and down a part of 
the stern. “ The starn-post is all right, but the false 
starn-post hez gone.” 

“ It is unfortunate,” said the captain. 

“ It be, sir,” replied Hiram; “ but ef we find the rest 
of the brig in good condition we might rig up a jury 
rudder and a jury mast and take the wessel into some 
port.” 

For the sake of those of my readers who are not 
familiar with nautical terms, it may be said that a jury 
rudder and jury mast are the names given to such 
makeshifts as may take the place of the regular rudders 
and masts when these latter are injured during a 
storm. 

In reply to Hiram’s remark the captain said : 

“ I fear, Hiram, we shall find the vessel water- 
logged.” 

“ She lies pretty high out of the water fer a water- 
logged wessel, sir,” replied Hiram. 

“ That’s probably because she is loaded with some 
light cargo such as lumber, and possibly too, she is 
provided with water-tight compartments. Now let’s 
examine her sides,” continued the captain, “ I hope 
we’ll find them pretty sound.” 

An examination showed that on the whole the ves- 
sel was sound above the water-line, but that her 
timbers had evidently been greatly strained by blows 
from the waves. 

“ What do you think, Uncle Arthur ? ” inquired 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Harold. “Will the brig float for some time yet? Is 
there much danger of her sinking soon ? ” 

“ Since she has safely passed through the storm that 
struck us,” said Jack, “ there wouldn’t seem to be much 
chance of her sinking now.” 

] “ No, Jack, there don’t, indeed. From the appear- 

ance of the brig it seems that she has weathered many, 
many storms since she became a derelict.” 

“ How can you tell, sir ? ” inquired Jack. 

“ In many ways,” was the reply. “ Look at the 
splintered ends of the masts. As you see, the wood 
does not look as if it had been broken off yesterday, or 
even several months ago, but has evidently been ex- 
posed to the waves and the weather for a long time. 
Then the sides of the vessel are covered with a green 
slime and there are barnacles growing below the level 
of the water. Everything seems to show that the brig 
has weathered many storms since she was deserted and 
became a derelict. I do not think there is any proba- 
bility that she will founder soon.” 

“ Well, that’s good,” exclaimed Harold. 

“ And now,” said the captain, “ if you are all as 
hungry as I am I guess the next thing to do is to see 
if we can warm up some of the provisions we brought 
with us in the boat and make a cup of coffee. Let us 
see if we can find the galley.” 

Fortunately the galley had been located below the 
main deck. Removing the tarpaulin that covered the 
hatchway they found the galley which, as perhaps 
most of my readers know, is a small room or other 
89 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


place on the deck or below it where the cooking is 
carried on. The galley had not been injured by the 
storm, so that the iron cook-stove it contained, al- 
though rusty, was in fairly good condition. Moreover, 
there had been provided, as perhaps is not generally 
done, a quantity of soft coal for burning. A wooden 
coalbin in a corner of the room still contained nearly a 
ton of coal. 

When Hiram saw the cooking utensils in the galley 
he said : 

“ I’ll try my hand at cooking. While I arn’t a fancy 
cook, yet so fer ez making a cup of coffee and toastin’ 
some of the ship’s biscuits we brought with us from the 
boat are consarned, I calc’ late I kin hold my own with 
most eny cook wot f oilers the sea.” 

Of course Hiram carried matches, for, being an in- 
veterate smoker, he was careful to be provided with the 
means for lighting his beloved pipe. Everything was 
damp, so there was no little trouble in starting a fire 
with the soft coal. The stove smoked dreadfully at 
first. This was soon found to be due to a piece of 
cloth that had been stuck into the top of the stovepipe 
where it passed out on the deck apparently for the 
purpose of keeping the water from entering the galley. 

“ Look at thet,” exclaimed Hiram. “ The crew 
afore they left this wessel wuz mighty keerful to stop 
up all holes where water could git in.” 

The clearing out of the stovepipe effectually stopped 
the smoking, and a fire was soon briskly burning in 
the galley. There was a wooden bucket with a long 
90 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


but slender rope attached to its handle and a mop that 
had been left in the bucket. 

“ I reckon a little bit of sea-water to swab out this 
here room would make it sweeter like,” replied Hiram, 
letting down the empty bucket over the side of the 
vessel and dexterously filling it with water and then 
hauling it aboard. A half-hour’s hard work greatly 
improved the cleanliness of the galley. On the walls 
were hanging various pots, pans, and kettles that had 
been employed for cooking. Those made of tin were 
hopelessly rusted. Others, however, that were either 
enameled or formed of galvanized iron — that is, iron 
covered with a thin layer of metallic zinc — were in 
fairly good condition. So too were some copper ket- 
tles. These latter, however, were covered with a green 
crust of verdegris formed by the oxygen, carbonic acid 
gas, and moisture of the air rusting the copper. 

“ That green stuff’s pisenous,” said Hiram, “ but a 
little rubbing with elbow grease or sandsoap or sich 
like will make ’em shine like a new copper penny. Ye 
kin throw them things overboard,” he said, pointing to 
the hopelessly rusted iron vessels. “ The others ye may 
clean as well as ye kin while I’m gitting breakfast 
ready.” 

The boys were glad to do this, for of course they 
expected to take their part of the work while on the 
brig. Jack started to take the bucket to dip it into 
the ocean to get some water when Hiram said : 

“ Ye’d better let me do that, Mr. Jack, ye might lose 
the bucket. Ye may think it easy to dip a bucket of 
9i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


water from the sea, but ontil ye git the hang of it ye’ll 
find it harder than it looks.” 

Filling the bucket with sea-water he emptied it into 
one of the largest of the galvanized iron vessels, and 
then returned for another bucket of water which he 
employed for swabbing the ceiling, walls, and floors of 
the galley. 

“ See here, Jack,” cried Harold, “ I have found a bar 
of sandsoap and two scrubbing-brushes,” pointing to a 
part of the room which Hiram had yet left unswabbed. 

By the use of the brushes and the sandsoap, together 
with plenty of water, the pans, pots, and kettles were at 
last reduced to approximate cleanliness. The copper 
kettles gave them the greatest trouble, but after con- 
siderable work then, as well as after breakfast, they 
succeeded in making them shine, as Hiram declared 
they would, like a new copper penny. 

While the cooking was going on and the boys were 
engaged in cleansing the pots, pans, and kettles, the 
captain went to the charthouse in the stern of the 
vessel right aft of the cabin. This was a fairly large 
room that was provided, on the side opposite the door, 
with heavy glass windows that had resisted the blows 
of the waves. He found the door shut but unlocked, 
and therefore had no trouble in opening it. The room 
was quite damp and the air heavy, but opening the 
window and leaving the door open the entrance of the 
sunshine and the blowing through of the air soon made 
the room fairly sweet. 

On each of the two sides of the room, between the 
92 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


door and the window two berths had been provided, 
so that it seemed that the brig at one time had need 
for extra sleeping accommodations. A locker on the 
side opposite the door and below the window, was 
filled with charts that had been neatly rolled up and 
covered with oiled silk to keep the damp out. The 
middle of the room was provided with a table on which 
lay an open chart of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Examining the bedclothing in the berth the captain 
found it in good condition and clean, but very damp 
and musty, so stepping to the galley where he found 
the boys still busy in scouring the pots, he said : 

“ Jack, stop your work a moment and come and help 
me move some things out of the charthouse,” and with 
the aid of Jack, he took the bedclothes and bedding off 
the bunks and spread them out on the deck in the sun- 
light to dry and be aired. 

In about an hour, after swabbing the room and 
cleaning the pots and kettles, Hiram sent Harold to 
tell the captain that breakfast was ready. The boys 
had found a number of plates and cups and saucers 
which they had cleaned for use during their meals. 

That first breakfast on board the derelict brig was a 
meal long to be remembered. It was not much of a 
meal so far as the character of the food went, for it 
consisted of some hot canned soup Hiram had heated 
in one of the pots, of toasted ship’s biscuit, and plenty 
of hot coffee. But they were all very hungry, and 
hunger is a sauce that has never yet been equaled for 
creating an appetite, provided the hunger has not gone 
93 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


too far. Nor was it surprising that they were all ex- 
ceedingly hungry, for during the five memorable days 
they spent in the open boat it had been impossible to 
have any warm food, nor indeed had there even been 
much time when it was possible for them to eat, since’ 
on the part of the men it was almost continuous labor- 
ing at the oars to keep the boat headed right, and on 
the part of the boys, almost equally hard work, by con- 
stant bailing, to keep the boat from swamping. 

When breakfast was over Hiram went with the 
captain to examine the charthouse. There was still 
a musty smell about the air of the room, and every- 
thing was covered with dust, for dust collects-in the 
air even far out at sea. 

“ I’ll swab out this room, sir,” exclaimed Hiram, 
going to the galley and returning with a bucket of sea- 
water and his swab. “ My lads,” he said, turning to the 
boys, “ get your brushes and scouring soap and see 
what ye kin do towards cleaning up.” 

After nearly an hour’s hard work the chartroom 
was thoroughly cleaned and completely lost its mouldy 
smell. 

In the meantime the captain had turned the bedding 
and the bedclothes a number of times, so that they were 
rapidly drying. He had also looked into the cabin on 
the poop-deck. As soon as he opened the door, how- 
ever, there came so awful a smell from it that he 
quickly closed it, and returning said to Hiram and the 
boys : 

“ The air in the cabin is so foul that I think we will 

94 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


leave examining that part of the vessel till early to- 
morrow morning and then see what we can do to- 
ward cleaning it out. Fortunately, we have plenty of 
food and water which we brought with us in the boat 
to last us a long time. We can find comfortable liv- 
ing quarters in the charthouse, so that, as we are all 
very much done up by the hard work of the last five 
days, we will take things easy until to-morrow 
morning.” 

“ I’m glad of that, uncle,” exclaimed Harold; “ I 
am so sleepy I can hardly keep my eyes open.” 

“ So am I,” exclaimed Jack. 

“ Well, so far as that is concerned, my lads,” replied 
the captain, “ so am I, and I guess so is Hiram ; nor is 
it astonishing, for you remember that during the five 
days we were in the open boat none of us had much 
sleep. I think, therefore, it will be best to take this 
afternoon and evening for sleeping.” 

“ That’s good,” said Jack ; “ we’ll try to make up for 
the sleep we have lost during the last five days.” 

By this time the bedding and bedclothing which 
they had repeatedly turned were found to be dry 
enough to replace in the bunks. The boys were now 
Iso sleepy that they found it almost impossible to keep 
awake. Indeed, as soon as the bedding was in place 
they looked so longingly at the berths that Hiram, who 
was then alone with them in the chartroom, said good- 
naturedly : 

“ My lads, ye’ve had hard work. I’m going to git 
something ready fer dinner. Throw off your coats, 
95 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


shoes, and pantaloons and turn into the berths on one 
of the sides of the room. When dinner’s ready I’ll 
come and call ye. There’s some chocolate among the 
foodstuff that was placed in our boat, and this with a 
can of condensed milk and water will make a tarna- 
tion good cup of chocolate. Then I’ll het up some 
canned soup and toast some more biscuit, and that’ll 
make a fust-class dinner considering all things.” 

It did not take the boys long to throw off their coats, 
shoes, and trousers and turn into the berths. 

“ Take the lower berth, Harold,” exclaimed Jack, 
“ I’ll take the upper one.” And soon both lads were in 
a deep sleep. Rompey, who had kept close to his young 
master all this time, jumped into the berth and curled 
himself up at Harold’s feet. 

In about an hour Hiram returned and awakened the 
boys who were soon dressed and enjoying a hearty 
dinner. 

At their first meal Hiram had tried to persuade the 
captain and boys to eat their food alone, saying that 
he would wait until the second table. 

“ No, Hiram,” exclaimed the captain; “ there are so 
few of us now that we will not stand on ceremony, but 
will all eat together.” 

During the dinner the captain remarked : 

“ To-morrow we’ll take an account of our food 
supplies, and especially of our fresh water. There is 
almost sure to be among the stores of the brig plenty 
of canned goods and salted meat that have been left 
untouched, most of which I hope we’ll find in good 
96 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


condition. I also trust we shall find the tanks full of 
good drinking-water.” 

By the time dinner was over it was clear that the 
captain was wise in his determination to do no more 
work either in the line of exploration or cleaning until 
the next morning, for both he and Hiram showed 
very plainly the need of rest. The different kinds of 
work they had been doing had caused the day to pass 
so rapidly that it was now two o’clock in the afternoon, 
so when dinner was over the captain said: 

“ We must all get some sleep. Of course it would be 
wrong not to leave a watch on deck. We will, there- 
fore, divide the day into the usual watches.” 

Jack, who by this time had already had some little 
rest, and seeing that both the captain and Hiram were 
greatly in need of sleep, and that the short nap had 
made Harold if anything sleepier than before, asked 
that the first watch be given to him. 

This was agreed on with the understanding that at 
six o’clock Jack should awaken the captain who should 
then take the second watch, that Harold would take 
the third watch, and Hiram the fourth. This be- 
ing arranged, Hiram and the captain taking the two 
berths on the opposite side of the charthouse, the cap- 
tain the lower berth, and Hiram the upper berth, with 
Harold and Rompey in the lower berth on the boys’ 
side of the house, they were soon all asleep with the 
exception of Jack, who thus had his first experience on 
the watch in a vessel at sea. 


G 


97 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER VII 

The Ghost of the Derelict 

Nothing unusual occurred during Jack’s watch, so at 
six p. m., or as they say at sea, at four bells, he called 
the captain and telling him that there was nothing to 
report turned in. The captain remained on deck until 
the close of his watch when he called Harold. 

It may be well here to explain for such of my 
readers as may not be acquainted with nautical terms 
the manner in which the hours of the day and night 
are divided at sea. As a rule, the crew of every vessel 
while at sea is evenly divided into two companies called 
watches, that take turns going on deck, so that each 
half of the crew is four hours on duty and four hours 
off. In merchant vessels such, for example, as the Ke- 
trel, one of these watches, called the starboard watch, 
is assigned to the captain, but is often commanded by 
the second mate during good weather when it is not 
necessary for the captain to be on deck. The other 
watch, called the larboard or port watch, is commanded 
by the first mate. This was Lieutenant Harding’s 
watch on the Ketrel. 

In order to prevent the watches of any half of the 
crew from falling on the same hours throughout the 
voyage, the watch between four p. m. and eight P. m. 
is divided into two half-watches called dog-watches. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


This causes the twenty-four hours of the day to be di- 
vided into seven, an uneven number of watches, instead 
of six, into which it would otherwise be divided. 

The beginning and the ending of each watch is in- 
dicated by bells. Bells are also struck in order to in- 
dicate the different hours of the day. To this end 
bells are sounded at the close of every hour and every 
half-hour during the day and night. For example, 
eight bells are rung at noon, and every fourth hour 
afterward; that is, the eight bells are rung at noon, 
at four, eight, and twelve o’clock. 

The time between four and eight p. m., is divided 
into the dog-watches, or as they are called, the first 
and second dog-watches ; that is, from four to six p. m., 
and from six to eight p. m. 

The intermediate hours of the day are indicated as 
follows : the greatest number of bells that are sounded, 
that is, the greatest number of successive strokes given 
on a single bell, being eight. The bell following the 
eight bells that indicate noon, is one bell, which means 
half-past twelve. Then at one o’clock two bells are 
sounded; at half-past one, three bells; at two, four 
bells; at half-past two, five bells; at three, six bells; 
at half-past three, seven bells, until finally eight bells 
indicate four o’clock, when these are again repeated; 
one bell then indicating four-thirty, and two bells five 
o’clock, etc. As will be seen an even number of strokes 
always indicates the full hours, while the odd numbers 
the half-hours. 

The bells are sounded in sets of two strokes; thus 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


four bells are sounded by two sharp strokes, then a 
slight pause, followed by two more sharp strokes. 

The captain called Harold at ten o’clock, or at four 
bells. Before turning in he said to the lad : 

“ Now, Harold, remember that when on watch one 
is in a very important position. You are the only one 
who will be awake, and on the care you take in watch - 1 
ing may depend our safety. Don’t for a moment think 
of lying down, for you might fall asleep, and then not 
only would I be greatly ashamed of you, but you would 
also be greatly ashamed of yourself.” 

“ Why, Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed the boy in aston- 
ishment, “ you don’t think that I will be unfaithful 
during my watch ? ” 

“ No, my lad,” was the reply, “ I do not think you 
would intend to be unfaithful, but you are very young 
and are still quite tired. I am only warning you of the 
danger. If I thought for a moment you would be pur- 
posely unfaithful I would never think of placing you 
on watch.” 

“ I will keep awake all right, uncle ; and then 
Rompey, who will watch with me, will help keep me 
awake. Won’t you, Rompey? ” he said, turning to the 
dog. 

The dog shook its tail and gave a sharp bark as if 
to say there would be no trouble while they were to- 
gether. And then turning to his uncle, Harold said : 

“ Now, uncle, lie down and get some sleep. You 
need it.” 

“ I will, my lad,” was the reply; “ but before I go to 
ioo 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sleep I want to say this. Should anything happen that 
you think Hiram or I should know, don’t hesitate to 
call us. But be sure you don’t call us unnecessarily, 
since we both need rest. I believe, however, I can 
safely leave this matter to you.” 

The captain turned in and was soon fast asleep. 
Harold took up his watch, not only around the door 
of the chartroom, but occasionally walking forward 
as far as the hatch of the forecastle. 

It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining 
brightly; the surface of the water was so quiet and 
smooth that, like a huge mirror, it reflected the heavens 
brightly from its surface. Rompey, of course, followed 
his master, who occasionally spoke to him in a low tone. 

Nothing occurred until shortly after midnight, when 
Harold noticed that whenever he walked toward the 
open hatch leading into the forecastle Rompey showed 
uneasiness, giving a low growl every now and then. 

“ He thinks he hears something,” said Harold to 
himself. “ What is the matter, Rompey,” he said, 
addressing the dog, “ do you see or smell anything ? ” 

The animal only wagged his tail as if to say : 

“ I am not quite certain, but I don’t altogether like 
this part of the vessel.” 

Toward one o’clock, as he was again passing the 
open hatchway, Rompey was still more uneasy and 
again began to growl, standing at the open hatchway 
and looking as if he expected something to rush out 
of it. 

“ What’s the matter, Rompey, do you smell a rat ? 

IOI 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


I suppose there might still be a few rats aboard,” he 
continued. But the next moment he was startled to 
hear sounds resembling the moaning of a human being 
in pain or suffering. He was at first disposed to run 
and call his uncle or Jack, but remembering what his 
uncle had said about unnecessarily disturbing them, he 
refrained from doing this, especially as the sounds 
ceased. Rompey stopped barking, and looked up in his 
face as if to say : 

“ I guess I was mistaken. There’s nothing here to 
alarm us.” 

Harold continued his watch until, looking at his 
timepiece, he saw that it was two o’clock and that his 
watch had ended; so he called Hiram who was soon 
dressed and ready to take his place. 

“ Anything to report, Mr. Harold? ” he inquired. 

“ Nothing, sir, except that shortly after midnight 
while passing the open hatch over the forecastle 
Rompey seemed uneasy and began to growl, and again, 
about an hour ago, he stopped at the open hatchway 
and looking down into the hold he began to growl and 
bark in an angry manner. At the same time I believed 
I heard a moaning sound like that of a person in dis- 
tress. At first I thought of calling you, but afterward 
concluded that it was not of sufficient importance to 
wake you.” 

“ Perhaps ye thought it might be a speerit,” said 
Hiram in a bantering tone. 

“ No, no,” replied the lad, “ I don’t believe in ghosts 
or spirits.” 


102 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“Well, Mr. Harold,” said Hiram, “I allow I do; 
but I reckon it warn’t no ghost or speerit ye heerd. 
There are a many things to be heerd on a wessel at sea. 
Better turn in now, my lad, and I’ll watch the rest of 
the night.” 

It is not an unusual circumstance that people like 
Hiram, who though themselves exceedingly super- 
stitious, yet are intolerant of anything like superstition 
in others. Therefore, when Harold told him what he 
thought he had heard, Hiram only laughed at him. He 
kept close watch, however, every now and then walking 
past the open hatchway in the forecastle where he 
always stopped to listen. But no sounds reaching 
him, he at last became convinced that there was noth- 
ing there and finally forgot all about it. 

Toward five o’clock, however, shortly before the 
breaking of the dawn, while passing the hatchway 
something occurred that greatly terrified Hiram; 
for he distinctly heard a voice exclaiming as if both in 
reproach and anger : 

“You’re a devil! You’re a devil! I’m starving; 
give me something to eat ! ” 

“ There be no mistake in thet,” said Hiram to him- 
self in a horrified tone. “ The devil hez cum aboard 
and is torturing a ghost of one of the crew thet died or 
wuz murdered in the fokesel. Think I’d better call the 
cap’in, but I guess I’ll wait awhile; fer I’m afeerd he’ll 
laugh at me. He is always telling me I’m too supersti- 
tious.” 

Though a very superstitious man and therefore cow- 
103 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ardly about unreal things, yet Hiram was as brave as 
almost any man concerning anything he believed to be 
real. He therefore courageously stood near the open- 
ing of the hatchway listening intently, and was again 
horrified to hear the words distinctly : 

“ You’re a devil! You’re a devil! Do you intend 
to starve me? I’m hungry; I’m thirsty. You’re a 
devil ! You’re a devil ! ” 

And then to his great horror he heard a strange 
whizzing sound and felt something of a faint, whitish 
color on which, however, he could see a patch of bright 
red, which he at once concluded to be blood, brush past 
him through the air. 

“ It’s the speerit of a murdered man,” he cried. “ I 
kin see the blood marks. I suttinly must call the cap- 
’in.” Running to the charthouse he called out : “ Get 
up, cap’in, get up. The devil hez cum aboard and is 
torturing the ghost of a murdered man.” 

Hiram was so excited and called out in so loud a tone 
that the two boys as well as the captain were awakened. 
Hurriedly dressing they all ran out followed by Hiram 
and the dog and were soon standing in front of the 
open hatch of the forecastle. Rompey reached the 
place first and stood at the door barking furiously. 
There could be no doubt that he either smelled some- 
thing or heard something within. 

There was something uncanny on being suddenly 
aroused from a sound sleep and before one is thor- 
oughly awake to hear what those four people heard 
when looking down the forecastle hatch. There was 
104 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


a low moaning sound as if coming from some person 
in great distress. This sound was distinctly repeated 
several times. 

Hiram’s face assumed the ashen tint of fear. Turn- 
ing to the captain who, to his great surprise, did not 
appear to be at all frightened, for he simply regarded 
the sounds as something that required careful investi- 
gation, 

“ Do ye heer that ? ” exclaimed Hiram in an ex- 
cited voice, and then turning to the boys he said : “ Do 
ye heer that ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Harold, “ it is something like what 
I heard this morning and told you about.” 

“ I don’t think you should be frightened at that 
sound,” said the captain. 

At this moment, however, they all heard distinctly a 
querulous voice exclaiming : 

“ You’re a devil! You’re a devil! I’m starving; 
give me something to eat and drink.” 

“ There, sir,” exclaimed Hiram turning to the cap- 
tain, “ ain’t that awful ? What do ye think of thet? ” 

“ I don’t know,” said the captain coolly, “ but I soon 
shall,” and taking a match out of his pocket — for like 
Hiram the captain was a great smoker, though not so 
inveterate — struck the match and holding it in his hand 
walked down the ladder leading into the forecastle. 

“ I’ll go with you, captain,” said Jack bravely fol- 
lowing him down the ladder. 

Harold looked down into the hatchway while Hiram 
remained at some distance, greatly surprised at what 
105 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


he regarded as the wonderful courage of the man and 
boy. 

When the captain and Jack reached the bottom of 
the ladder the match was extinguished, being blown out 
by something that passed rapidly over their heads. 

The captain coolly lighted another match and almost 
immediately both he and Jack were heard laughing 
heartily. The next minute the captain’s head appeared 
coming up the ladder holding on his wrist an emaciated 
poll-parrot which had settled itself on his wrist. The 
bird’s feathers were bright red, green, and some others 
tinted with white. Although greatly delighted in see- 
ing human faces, yet the bird kept up its eroakings, 
crying : 

“ You’re a devil! You’re a devil! I’m starving; 
give me something to eat.” 

“ Hiram,” cried the captain laughing, “ I have 
brought you both your devil and your ghost. The poor 
bird had evidently been aboard for some few days and 
is now nearly dead from starvation and thirst. Not- 
withstanding the uncomplimentary remarks it has been 
making about me, it is evidently rejoiced to see a 
human face again, so as soon as I lighted the second 
match it flew toward me and lighted on my wrist, and 
has been trying to show how pleased it is to meet me, 
although, as you see, it still persists in calling me a 
devil.” 

Hiram appeared to be greatly ashamed of himself 
and contented himself by merely saying : 

“ Well, this is sartinly on me. I allow I wuz wrong 
106 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


thet time, but this don't prove that the devil don’t come 
on ships at times.” 

The boys began to pet the poll-parrot. The poor 
bird was very weak and emaciated, and appeared 
pleased with the boys, especially with Jack, who ran 
and got it a drink of water and fed to it some soaked 
biscuits. It greedily ate the biscuits and drank the 
water. 

“ Don’t give it too much at a time, Jack,” said the 
captain. 

“ Captain,” said Jack, “ since Harold got Rompey 
I suppose I may keep the parrot ? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ you may have him, so give 
him a name that we may know how to call this addi- 
tional member of our crew.” 

“ I think,” said Jack laughing, “ I will call him 
Satan, for this is what he persisted in calling us when 
he first saw us.” 

“ It’s a good name, Jack,” said the captain laughing; 
“ we’ll call him Satan.” 

“ I wonder what Satan was doing on the brig,” said 
Harold. “ He couldn’t have been here since the vessel 
first foundered.” 

“ Oh, no,” replied the captain, “ the vessel has been 
too long a derelict. I imagine that the bird was blown 
here by the wind from some vessel that passed her 
during the late storm.” 


107 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER VIII 

Taking an Account of Stock 

It was now so near six o’clock that none of them 
thought of trying to get any more sleep. Hiram, 
therefore, began preparations for breakfast, while the 
boys after airing the beds and bedclothes made up 
the bunks and tidied up the chartroom. In the mean- 
time the captain examined the charts in the chart- 
locker. When the boys’ work was completed the 
captain said: 

“ Come with me to the cabin, boys, and we’ll see if 
we can’t open some of the windows and let the air in.” 

The opening of the door disclosed the same intensely 
disagreeable odor; an odor resembling that produced 
by putrefying flesh. 

“ What can it be, Uncle Arthur ? ” exclaimed 
Harold. “ What a beastly smell.” 

“ It's an animal odor,” said Jack. “ I wonder if 
we’ll find a dead body in any of the bunks ! ” 

“ I’ve been thinking of that, Jack,” replied the cap- 
tain. “ But it is hardly possible, for the brig has ap- 
parently been a derelict for so long a time. I certainly 
hope we shall not. Let’s try to open the windows. 
Jack, come and help me. We’ll hold our breath as 
long as we can, make a dash, try to get one of the 
windows open, and then run out of the room.” 

108 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


It took them so long to open one of the windows that 
they were obliged to take several breaths in the vitiated 
air. They then left the room as agreed, and after a 
few moments went and opened another window, again 
leaving the cabin. In this way they soon had all four 
, windows open so that the wind circulated through the 
room. The air that came out of the cabin was so dis- 
agreeable that they sought the galley and watched 
Hiram making preparations for breakfast. 

It will be understood that the cabin, being on the 
poop or quarter-deck, was only partly above the top 
of the main deck, it being entered by means of a com- 
panionway or staircase, like a flight of ordinary stairs. 
The windows referred to were located in the sides that 
projected above the top of the main deck. 

At last Hiram had the breakfast ready. This meal, 
like the two meals of the preceding day, was eaten out- 
side the galley. Satan, who was evidently accustomed 
to eat with people, insisted on remaining with Jack, 
perching not on his wrist but on his right shoulder. 
Every now and then it would provoke them to laughter 
by some quaint remark such as : 

“ A piece of cracker here.” And then on receiving it 
would gravely say, “ Thank you.” 

“ Satan has been well brought up,” said Jack laugh- 
ing. 

At first there was some difficulty in keeping Rompey 
from attacking the bird, but Harold soon made it plain 
that the bird was to be regarded as one of them. Be- 
fore long, therefore, the two animals were living hap- 
109 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


pily together, Satan soon learning the dog’s name, and 
apparently taking great delight in endeavoring to imi- 
tate Harold’s voice while calling him. 

When breakfast was over they all turned in, the cap- 
tain as well as the boys, and helped Hiram clean up. 
The captain then said : 

“ Hiram, let’s make an exploration of the cabin. It 
is a splendid room. I was glad to find the floor free 
from water. Of course everything is damp and the air 
smells as if there was much putrefying animal matter 
in it.” 

Although the air of the cabin was much less offen- 
sive than when first opened, still it was too disagreeable 
to continue to breathe. Going to a drawer in a large 
table that occupied the center of the room the captain 
found two papers that he knew would give them the 
particulars of the brig as well as the character of her 
cargo. These papers were the log-book and the brig’s 
manifest. 

The log-book, or as it is frequently called, the log, is 
a journal kept by the first officer in which are entered, 
from time to time, the direction and character of the 
wind, the weather, the course taken by the vessel, and 
the distances sailed. Besides this, it contains an ac- 
count of any noted action on the part of any of the 
crew or passengers, meritorious or otherwise, that is 
deemed worthy of being recorded. 

The manifest is a document signed by the master 
of the vessel, giving an account of the name and ton- 
nage of the vessel, the place to which she belongs, with 
no 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


a full description of her cargo. This description speci- 
fies the number and character of the separate packages 
of the cargo, the names of the ports from which they 
have been taken aboard, as well as those for which they 
are designed. 

As can be seen, a careful perusal of the log-book and 
the manifest would give them valuable information 
concerning the derelict. In this way they soon learned 
that the name of the brig was the Fanny Watson, of 
Boston; that she had left Liverpool with a cargo of 
canned goods; various food products, groceries, and 
hardware ; had stopped at Lisbon for a cargo of cork, 
wines, nuts, and raisins ; that she had then crossed the 
ocean and taken in from a New England port her prin- 
cipal cargo consisting of lumber, much of which was in 
the form of mill-work; i. e., doors, sashes, window- 
frames, shingles, joists, rafters, and boards suitable for 
flooring and sheathing. She was bound for Mel- 
bourne, Australia. Her cargo was intended for use in 
the mining districts, both as supplies for the miners, 
and for the erection of their houses. It appeared from 
these books that the vessel had been wrecked near the 
Straits of Magellan while doubling South America. It 
?was evident too, from the date on which they had been 
obliged to abandon the brig, and the date when she 
was boarded by her present occupants, that it had been 
floating in the ocean for somewhat over a year. 

“ A very valuable cargo for people in our condition, 
Hiram,” exclaimed the captain. “ I think that most 
of the foodstuff will be found in excellent condition.” 


hi 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Thar bean’t no doubt in my mind,” was the reply, 

“ but thet we’ll find it all right as fur as the stuff is 
consarned that wuz packed air-tight and water-tight. 
Howsumever, I reckon wharever the water or air 
could get at the eatables they bean’t now of much 
account.” 

It was gained from the papers which contained the i 
names and numbers of the crew that there was a single 
passenger on the brig named Dr. Charles B. Parsons, 
of Boston. 

“ Why, I know that man,” exclaimed the captain. 
“ He and I were students together in geographical 
physics at Oxford! The doctor was an unusually in- 
telligent and bright man. He was well off and so was 
able to continue his studies in physics, while I was com- 
pelled to follow the sea for a living. I noticed a well- 
filled bookcase in the cabin in which we will probably 
find an excellent library, as well as a lot of splendid 
physical instruments, preparations, specimens, etc., 
for I understand that the doctor was off on a long 
cruise in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the pur- 
pose of obtaining data for a book he was writing, called 
“ The Physical Geography of the Sea.” 

When the captain had ceased speaking he continued 
reading one of the papers. A shade of sadness came 
over his face. Finally, he looked up and said : 

“ Poor fellow. I’m sorry to hear this. The doctor 
was swept overboard by a heavy wave that washed the 
deck the day before the vessel was abandoned.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” cried Harold, “ if so much of the 


1 12 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


cargo consists of lumber and cork that would explain 
why the brig floats so high out of the water.” 

“ That’s right, Harold,” was the reply. “ Let us 
now make a further examination of the cabin,” he 
continued. “ Hiram, we will try to open some of the 
deadlights and let more air enter the room.” When 
this was done, he said : “ We must now try to find the 
cause of this horrible smell.” 

The opening of the doors and windows of the cabin 
had sufficiently cleared the air to enable them the 
better to localize the portions from which the bad odors 
were coming. When they had first opened the cabin 
door all parts of the air were equally offensive, but now 
a brief examination showed that the stench came from 
a number of glass jars and other vessels containing 
fish, birds, etc., that had originally been covered with 
alcohol. The corks or stoppers had not been suffi- 
ciently tight so that the alcohol had evaporated, and 
the specimens, undergoing putrefaction, were pouring 
out awful odors into the air of the cabin. It was 
evident the doctor had been making a collection of the 
animals of the sea that he intended to describe in the 
book he was writing. While there was no doubt that 
he was well informed concerning the habits of many 
of the animals of the deep, yet he had either been care- 
less or ignorant of how best to preserve them. 

Taking one of the largest jars in his hand the cap- 
tain started at once for the companionway, saying: 

“ Let’s throw all this stuff overboard.” 

“ Shell we save the bottles, sir? ” inquired Hiram. 

h 113 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ No, they will be of little use ; throw them over- 
board.” 

When this was done, although the smell had been 
somewhat decreased, yet it still remained almost in- 
tolerable. 

“ Tears to me, sir, thet it comes from this here 
barrel,” pointing to a large wine cask standing in one 
corner of the cabin. 

Removing a loose wooden cover from its top they 
saw that the barrel was fully three-quarters full of por- 
tions of the internal organs of a shark, dolphin, and 
other large deep-sea fish. It had probably once con- 
tained sufficient alcohol to cover the specimens, but the 
alcohol had evaporated long ago and the contents were 
in the disgusting state of putrefaction. 

“ Help me heave the whole thing overboard, 
Hiram,” said the captain. 

This was finally done, when the air of the cabin, re- 
lieved of its principal source of contamination, rapidly 
grew sweeter. 

There could be but little doubt as to the part of the 
contents of the cabin that possessed the greatest at- 
traction for the captain. This was a library of four 
or five hundred books arranged on shelves that occu- 
pied a part of the cabin immediately opposite two 
bunks. As Hiram afterward pointed out, it was evi- 
dently in order to find room for this bookcase that two 
bunks on that side of the cabin had been removed. 
Possibly these were two of the bunks they had found 
in the charthouse. 

114 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


An examination showed that although the books 
were in a musty condition, with many of the covers 
badly warped with dampness, yet they were not other- 
wise Injured and could be readily employed for the 
purpose of study. 

“ This is a magnificent collection of scientific works, 
not only including geographical physics, but also or- 
dinary physics, chemistry, electricity, mechanics, etc.” 

“ That’s magnificent, captain,” said Jack. 

“ Yes, Jack,” replied the captain turning to the lad, 
“ you and I will have a splendid time reading these 
books. It looks now as if we should have much spare 
time on our hands, so that I can give you a great deal 
of help in your scientific studies.” 

“ And where do I come in ? ” asked Harold laugh- 
ing. 

“ Oh, you’ll come in with Jack,” replied the captain 
good-naturedly ; “ but, of course, since you are younger 
than Jack you would hardly care to spend the greater 
part of your time with me in study.” 

“ No,” replied Harold, “ not all of my time ; but 
still I want to learn about these things, so you and 
Jack may expect to see a good deal of me in the cabin.” 

After completing a somewhat hurried examination 
of the library, the captain began to inspect the va- 
rious scientific instruments the doctor had employed 
in his studies. These included a magnificent aneroid 
barometer, several recording thermometers, a deep- 
sea thermometer, a hydrometer, an anemometer, be- 
sides many other devices. Fortunately, all these were 
ii5 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in good condition with the exception of the ane- 
mometer that had been injured by the shocks given to 
the vessel by the waves during the storms. Besides 
these there was an excellent camera with a collection 
of photographic chemicals and a gross of dry plates. 

“ Now let us see some of the captain’s apparatus,” 
exclaimed the captain, “ that he used in the naviga- 
tion of the vessel.” 

These included a splendid chronometer, a pair of 
powerful field-glasses, and a sextant. 

“ Jack,” said the captain, “ I am going to teach you 
how to calculate latitude and longitude. Sometime 
this knowledge may be of great use to you. Do you 
know anything about trigonometry, algebra, and 
geometry? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” was the reply, “ I went pretty far in 
these branches while at Eton.” 

While this examination was being made, Hiram had 
been examining with great interest a small gun-har- 
poon ; that is, a harpoon that is fired from a peculiarly 
constructed gun. This harpoon was made wholly of 
tough steel, and was provided with a long chain or 
shackle to which a piece of stout line was attached. It 
was of the same type as that employed in whale-fishery, 
only much smaller. 

“ I reckon,” exclaimed Hiram, “ thet the doctor used 
this fer taking some of the big critters.” 

“ There is no doubt of it,” was the reply. “ We 
may be able to use this harpoon to advantage from the 
deck. At least it will be convenient, since having no 
116 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


boat we would otherwise be unable to haul in our game 
if we succeeded in killing it.” 

Jack, who had been examining a locker, said : 

“ Captain, here is something that will be of much 
value to us.” 

“ What is it, Jack? ” 

“ It is the doctor’s medicine chest It also contains 
some surgical instruments.” 

■ “ Yes,” said the captain, “ that’s a valuable find, 
Jack. These medicines are such as are apt to be re- 
quired at sea. I guess the doctor, although a passen- 
ger, when necessary acted as the doctor of the brig.” 

The examination of the principal articles in the cabin 
being thus completed, Hiram remarked : 

“ Hedn’t we better move some of the things outside, 
and swab and clean out the cabin as we did the chart- 
house ? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply. “ Boys, spread the bedding 
and the bedclothes of the bunks out on the deck and 
help Hiram with some of the movable articles. I’ll 
take the scientific instruments and place them in the 
charthouse.” 

There was a large round table in the center of the 
cabin that was of course screwed down to the floor. 
A hanging oil lamp attached to the ceiling had origi- 
nally been placed over the center of the table, but it had 
been broken during the storm, as had also some 
crockery and glassware. They threw the broken pieces 
overboard, and collecting the uninjured pieces placed 
them in the charthouse. 

ii 7 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


There was now nothing to do but to remove a heavy 
wooden table-cover that was left on the table after the 
regular tablecloth was removed. Of course, the cap- 
tain and the doctor of the brig had taken their meals 
in the cabin. 

An hour’s hard work by Hiram with the swab, and 
by the boys with the scrubbing-brushes and scouring 
soap soon made the cabin cleaner and sweeter than it 
had been for a long time. By this time the bedding 
being dry, the boys made up the berths, the tablecloth 
was placed on the table, and the captain, aided by 
Hiram, replaced from the charthouse such of the 
scientific instruments that were attached to the walls. 

“ There be only two berths in the cabin,” exclaimed 
Hiram. “ Ez soon ez we get fixed up I’ll rig up a 
large berth for you, cap’in, and the two lads kin hev 
the other berths. As for me, I’ll bunk either in the 
charthouse or in the fokesel.” 

“ You can bunk with us if you prefer, Hiram,” said 
the captain. 

“ No,” was the reply, “ I’d ruther leave it ez I’ve 
arranged.” 

An examination was now made as to the condition 
of the stores. The lower hold of the vessel, or all that 
part of the vessel that is situated between the ship’s 
bottom and the lowest deck, was filled with water, at 
least all that was not filled with the cargo of cork and 
lumber. This part of a merchantman is generally called 
the lower hold in order to distinguish it from what is 
known as between decks; that is, the portion of the 
118 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


vessel between the upper or main deck and the lower 
deck. Fortunately, the water had not entered the be- 
tween decks, reaching as it did not quite to the top of 
the lower deck. 

As they had expected, the canned goods were found 
to be in excellent condition. At least this was the case 
with the soups and such vegetables as tomatoes, corn, 
green peas, and lima beans. The canned meats also ap- 
peared to be in good condition although, as the captain 
said, it might be dangerous to use them until he made 
an examination to see whether they were free from 
ptomaines, very poisonous products that are found 
in meats and other organic materials that have been 
kept too long. The barreled flour, of which there was 
a large quantity, was musty and unfit for use. The 
barreled sugar had partially melted, owing to the 
moisture that had collected on it, but the melted sugar 
had sufficiently hardened so that there would be no 
difficulty in employing the greater part of it. Such 
dried products as beans, green peas, hominy, lima 
beans, common beans, etc., were in fairly good condi- 
tion. 

They were especially pleased to find that a great 
number of food products had been packed in water- 
tight and air-tight sealed packages in order to prevent 
them from spoiling while passing the equator. These 
packages contained such articles as biscuits, crackers, 
Indian meal, tapioca, etc. Besides this there were jars 
containing pickles, India relish, bottles filled with choice 
molasses, vinegar, wines, etc. They found several 
1 19 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


full casks marked port wine from Oporto, together 
with several barrels of almonds and other nuts, and 
several boxes of raisins. There were in addition a 
large supply of barreled pork and beef, which appeared 
to be in good condition. 

Among the groceries was a large supply of coffee, 
tea, and chocolate placed in air-tight packages. 

“ We have enough food here,” replied the captain, 
“ to feed us liberally for several years. The most 
important thing that now remains is to see the condi- 
tion of the water supply.” 

“ This here cargo is worth a sight of money, sir,” 
remarked Hiram. 

“ It is, indeed,” was the reply. 

They were especially fortunate in finding that the 
water tanks, which consisted of cisterns built of mal- 
leable iron plates, contained a large supply of good 
water. By sounding them by tapping against the out- 
side they found that most, if not all of them, were 
filled. 

Of course there were many other things they dis- 
covered either during this or subsequent examinations 
that we will refer to as the occasion arises. We must 
not, however, fail to mention two things discovered by 
Hiram that greatly pleased him. These were the boat- 
swain’s locker, containing the tools and smaller articles 
employed by this non-commissioned officer, and a com- 
plete set of carpenter and joiner’s tools which he found 
among the hardware and household apparatus. 

“ It’ll be werry odd,” said Hiram, “ if I kain’t find 
120 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


some use fer these here tools when we get things on 
the brig more in a shipshape condition.” 

They had been so interested in the examination of 
the stores that the dinner hour had more than passed, 
so they stopped work and helped Hiram to prepare a 
capital meal from some of the stores found on the 
brig. 

It will of course be understood that during these ex- 
aminations both Rompey and Satan were present. 
Satan was especially interested in the packages of sweet 
chocolate, for as soon as he saw them he began crying : 

“I’m hungry! I’m hungry!” and he kept it up 
until Jack stopped him by giving him a piece of sweet 
chocolate which he held in his hand, while Satan tore 
off fragments with his beak, not forgetting every now 
and then to say gravely : 

“ Thank you.” 

So too, did Rompey come in for his share of good 
things, not only getting a piece of the sweet chocolate, 
but also a large cracker. 

“ We will not attempt to sleep in the cabin to-night,” 
said the captain. “ Although we have thoroughly 
cleansed it, I think it better to leave it open all day to- 
morrow. Therefore we’ll pass the night in the chart- 
house.” 


121 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER IX 

In the Kuro Sivo, or the Black Water 

The next four or five days were spent fixing up the 
cabin, cleansing the forecastle, throwing away such of 
the food products as were hopelessly spoiled, and in re- 
arranging the remainder. Hiram had obtained from 
the hold some pieces of scantling and boards with 
which he had fashioned a comfortable berth in the 
cabin for the captain. 

During this rearrangement of the goods they of 
course obtained a much better idea of the character 
and condition of the cargo. They found the articles 
of hardware to be badly rusted, though by no means 
worthless. The household goods had also suffered 
considerably from the water, but were generally in 
fairly good condition. They were pleased to find a 
number of mattresses and a plentiful stock of blankets 
and sheets. Some of these mattresses were narrow 
ones such as are employed on cots, so they threw away 
all the old mattresses and the covering in their bunks, 
replacing them with the new articles, after thoroughly 
airing them. Hiram persisted in his determination to 
make up his bunk in the charthouse. 

Besides the above work Hiram had strengthened 
such portions of the railing as had been weakened by 
the action of the waves during storms. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


One morning, about a week after the events recorded 
in the preceding chapter, Hiram called the attention 
of the boys to the fin of a shark that was seen occa- 
sionally projecting above the. surface of the water in 
the wake of the vessel. 

“ Do you see that ’ere shark wot is follering us ? 
That means more bad luck is coming,” said Hiram. 

“ Oh, come, Hiram,” said Jack, “ you’re jollying us 
for sure. You don’t mean to say you believe that 
this is the same shark we saw in the wake of the 
Ketrel ? ” 

“ Sartin, Mr. Jack, I reckon ’tis the same feller. 
When a shark keeps in the wake of a wessel it generally 
smells a dead body on it, and he generally keeps on 
follering it until he gets that body.” 

“ Well,’ said Jack, laughing now more loudly than 
ever, “ I don’t deny that he might have smelled a dead 
body on the derelict, and he wouldn’t require a very 
delicate sense of smell either to do that ; for the doctor’s 
specimens, especially those in the wine cask, smelled 
loud enough I’m sure. If that’s the same shark he 
must have swallowed them by this time. If he did he 
couldn’t be very particular.” 

“Ugh!” cried Harold, shuddering at the remem- 
brance of the horrible odor of the pieces of flesh in the 
barrel. “ I should think not.” 

“ It bean’t dead flesh that feller smells now,” per- 
sisted Hiram; “ it’s the flesh wot he knows will be dead 
afore long. It’s one of us he’s waitin’ fer.” 

“ Well, Hiram,” said Jack, “ you are a Jonah for 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sure. I can’t understand how a bright man like you 
can believe in such nonsense. I don’t believe it is the 
same shark. There are plenty of sharks in the sea, 
especially in these waters.” 

“ Wall,” replied Hiram obstinately, “ I allow it may 
not be the same feller, but it’s always bad luck fer a 
shark to f oiler a wessel. You’ll find nearly all sailors 
will agree with me that a shark in the wake of a wessel 
means bad luck to that ’ere wessel. Don’t forget, Mr. 
Jack, that the shark that follered the Ketrel brought 
bad luck to it, didn’t it? ” 

“ I don’t know,” replied Jack. “ It was not the 
shark that brought the bad luck, but the storm. But 
why don’t you look on the other side of the story, 
Hiram? ” he continued. “ You may call our meeting 
with the derelict bad luck, and I admit that it was to 
a certain extent ; and yet in another way we can look on 
it as a great piece of good luck, for we are certainly 
very comfortable here. We have plenty of food and 
water; there is no danger of sinking, and it would 
seem that before long we must be picked up by some 
passing vessel.” 

“ I allow we may be picked up,” said Hiram ; “ but 
what if a cruiser should sight us, and seeing that we 
wuz a derelict should try to sink us by firing her great 
guns ? ” 

“ Oh, don’t be such a croaker, Hiram,” exclaimed 
Jack. 

It was evident that Hiram felt Jack had got the 
better of him in the argument, for he was sensible 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


enough to see that the lad’s arguments were sound. 
Like many superstitious people, however, he was obsti- 
nate, and endeavored, by looking on the gloomier side 
of the situation, to prove that there had been a streak 
of bad luck brought them by the shark in their wake. 
Seeing this, Jack changed his method of attack on 
Hiram’s superstition. 

“ Hiram,” he inquired, “ what would you say if we 
should kill that shark? Would that change the streak 
of bad luck?” 

“Sartin, Mr. Jack. If we could sink that ’ere critter 
the streak of bad luck he’s bringing would sink with 
him.” 

“ Then,” replied Jack, “ I guess we’ll sink him. 
Come, Harold,” he continued, turning to his com- 
panion, “ let’s go to the cabin and ask the captain if we 
may try to kill the shark with our rifles.” 

On entering the cabin they found the captain sitting 
at the round table reading. 

“ Captain,” said Jack, “ we can see the fin of a big 
shark following in our wake. Hiram says it means 
bad luck. I have been trying to convince him of the 
absurdity of this belief, but have been unable to do so. 
Would you object if Harold and I try to kill the 
shark with our rifles; for Hiram agrees that if we can 
sink the shark we will sink any bad luck he may be 
trying to bring? ” 

“ I have no objections, Jack,” replied the captain. 
“ Indeed, I will join you. I have been cleaning the 
doctor’s shooting irons and would like to try this ex- 

125 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 

press rifle/’ he said, pointing to one of the doctor’s 
weapons. “ As you see, Jack, it is of large caliber and 
carries a heavy ball. I think a ball from this rifle 
would be very apt to settle the shark.” 

“ And any bad luck he may bring? ” inquired Har- 
old laughing. 

“ Yes, and any bad luck he may bring which, of 
course, is no bad luck at all,” was the reply. 

The captain and the two lads were soon standing 
with their rifles at the stern of the vessel. The shark, 
however, evidently alarmed, fell behind. 

“ I guess he smells the guns,” exclaimed Harold. 

“ Or sees the bad luck they are apt to bring to him,” 
added Jack. 

They remained at the stern of the vessel for about 
ten minutes when the shark again forged after the ves- 
sel and at last approached to within a hundred feet. 

“ Now, boys,” said the captain, “ let’s shoot to- 
gether. Aim a little below the fin and where you sup- 
pose the heart is. Fire when I reach the word ‘ three,’ ” 
he said, commencing to count. 

The three rifle-shots were heard almost simul- 
taneously when the number three was reached. One 
of the shots certainly struck the animal — possibly all 
three did — for almost instantly the water was dyed 
a reddish color and the shark disappeared, but in a few 
moments it was seen floating with its belly upward on 
the surface of the water. Its death had so nearly been 
instantaneous that one of the balls, possibly that of the 
express rifle, had passed through the heart. 

126 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I wonder which of us hit him,” exclaimed Jack. 

“ I’m sure I did,” said Harold, “ for I drew a bead 
right on to his body below the fin.” 

“ Well, for the matter of that,” said Jack, “ so did I, 
and I guess you did too, captain, did you not ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied the captain, “ I’m pretty sure I hit 
him.” 

“ If you wish to be sartin,” said Hiram, “ we could 
git the harpoon-gun and, landing the harpoon in the 
critter’s belly, draw him alongside. Not,” he added, 
“ that he’s very good eatin’, but we could git con- 
siderable ile out of the liver.” 

“ I hardly think we will try it, Hiram,” said the cap- 
tain. “ We have plenty of food and the harpoon-gun 
has not yet been cleaned.” 

It was evidently a great relief to Hiram that the 
shark had been killed. 

“Well, Hiram,” inquired Jack, “are you satisfied? 
Do you think that has turned our bad luck? ” 

“ Sartin, Mr. Jack,” replied Hiram in a tone which 
showed that he was fully convinced of the fact. “ Thet 
surely ends our bad luck as fer as that ’ere shark is 
consarned.” 

“ But, Hiram,” said Jack in a mischievous voice, 
“ that shark is still following us.” For the dead body 
floating in the water was being carried by the ocean 
current in the wake of the vessel. 

.“ Yes,” said the captain, “ and will follow probably 
for weeks.” 

“ I ain’t afeered of that, my lad,” said Hiram. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ But, Hiram,” inquired Harold who saw of course 
that Jack was jollying Hiram; “how about the 
shark’s spirit? That will follow us, won’t it? ” 

Evidently the inquiry had awakened some mistrust 
in Hiram’s mind, but he answered, although not in a 
very positive tone : 

“ I ain’t afeered of Mr. Shark’s speerit, Mr. 
Harold,” he said. “ At least I have never heerd of 
sich things bringin’ any bad luck with them.” 

“ Captain,” said Jack, as they went into the cabin 
to put away their rifles, “ if you are not busy won’t 
you please show me on some chart the probable route 
of the brig from the time it was wrecked off the coast 
of South America to the time it struck our boat? I 
have been wondering how it could get so far from the 
place where it was abandoned.” 

“ Yes, uncle,” said Harold, “ please do. Jack and I 
were talking about this a little while ago. Of course 
we know that it is the ocean currents and the winds 
that have brought her here. We have been wondering 
if you could show us the course it probably took.” 

“ I have plenty of time, boys,” was the reply. “ It 
happens that I have just been endeavoring to puzzle 
out this question myself. See here,” he said pointing 
to a splendid chart of the Pacific Ocean on which 
the ocean currents had been plainly marked. 

“ Where did you get that, uncle ? Among the doc- 
tor’s papers, I suppose ? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ I found it among a number 
of very valuable charts in the locker. The doctor has 
128 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


evidently given close attention and study to ocean 
currents, for I find on the margins of the charts notes 
in his handwriting concerning the direction of the 
currents. You will notice,” he continued, “ that in 
several cases he does not agree with the direction of the 
currents as marked on the chart.” 

The two boys had been carefully examining the 
chart while the captain was talking, and as soon as he 
stopped talking Harold exclaimed : 

“ Now, Uncle Arthur, please show us the exact 
route by which the brig reached its present position.” 

“ I don’t think it is possible to point out its exact 
route; is it, captain? ” inquired Jack. 

“ No, Jack,” was the reply; “our knowledge as to 
the direction of the ocean currents is by no means 
complete. Indeed, as you will see from this map, the 
doctor has evidently found that in many instances the 
directions as marked on it are in error and has made 
side-notes calling attention to the fact. However, I 
believe, that generally speaking, one can rely on these 
directions. We can, therefore, form a fair idea of the 
route taken by our brig. I will show you on this chart 
the conclusions I have reached as to its probable route 
from the time it was abandoned until it wrecked our 
boat in the China Sea. 

“ You will remember,” he continued, " that the brig 
was wrecked in the Pacific Ocean several hundred 
miles southwest of the southern extremity of South 
America. This would be about here,” he said placing 
a finger on the open chart. “ Of course you know that 
i 129 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


our brig, like all derelicts, has been carried from place 
to place mainly by the action of ocean currents, al- 
though of course the wind, especially when very strong, 
may have considerably altered her course. It is this 
action of the wind that makes it more difficult to 
determine its exact route, but since we may safely 
conclude that its direction has been influenced mainly 
by the currents, let us look at the chart and see the 
direction of the current in the part of the ocean in 
which the brig was wrecked. 

“ As you will see,” he continued, with his finger still 
on the map, “ in the part of the ocean where the brig 
was wrecked, a broad current called the Antarctic 
Current flows from the Antarctic Ocean toward the 
northeast. A portion of this current flowing south 
of South America then turns toward the east under 
the name of the Cape Horn Current. The greater 
part, however, under the name of the Peruvian Cur- 
rent, flows up the coast of South America at a fairly 
considerable distance from the continent. I think 
there is no doubt that our brig was caught in the 
waters of the portion of the Antarctic Current that 
merges with the Peruvian Current; for if it had been 
caught by the Cape Horn Current it would have en- 
tered the Atlantic Ocean, in which it would probably 
have remained.” 

“ And then in what direction do you think the brig 
was carried ? ” exclaimed Harold, who was very much 
interested in what he heard. 

“ That, Harold,” was the reply, “ would depend on 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


how far to the north she was carried by the Peruvian 
Current. Since she was wrecked in the ocean off 
the southwestern coast of South America, she was 
probably caught by the eastern edge of this current and 
was, therefore, carried north almost to the Equator. 
If this were so, she would enter the North Equatorial 
Current of the Pacific near its northern edge, and 
might have been carried to some of the many islands 
off the northeastern coast of Australia. From the 
long time she has been in the water, however, I am 
disposed to think that, possibly by means of strong 
winds or storms, she afterward entered the Equatorial 
Counter Current of the Pacific by which she was car- 
ried to the east; how far I cannot say, but possibly to 
some point off the coast of Central America. Here 
she may again have been carried by a storm into the 
North Equatorial Current of the Pacific when she again 
drifted to the west. 

“ As you see,” he continued, “ the North Equatorial 
Current of the Pacific flows in vast whirls or eddies. 
In this way she may have been carried into the Sar- 
gasso Sea of the North Pacific where she probably 
spent many months until, again carried by a storm to 
the North Equatorial Current of the Pacific, she con- 
tinued to the west and finally reached the place where 
her path met ours, wrecking our boat and affording 
us refuge.” 

“ Uncle,” said Harold, “ I see there are two of these 
whirls or eddies in the Pacific.” 

“ Yes, Harold,” was the reply; “ you will also find 

I 3 I 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


them in each of the other central oceans, the Atlantic 
and the Indian/’ 

“ Have you any charts of the other oceans, cap- 
tain ? ” inquired Jack, “ so that we can see the position 
of these whirls.” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, and going to the chart-locker 
he brought two charts, one of the Atlantic and the 
other of the Indian Ocean, and spread them out on 
the table, pointing out to the boys these great whirls or 
elliptical movements in both oceans. 

“ Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ I see the 
words Sargasso Sea marked in the middle of these 
movements. What is a sargasso sea? You said you 
thought our brig was carried into the Sargasso Sea 
of the North Pacific.” 

“ Can you answer that question, Jack?” remarked 
the captain, who believed in encouraging boys to make 
themselves familiar with such information for the 
purpose of being able to answer such questions. 

“ It is a name given to an immense collection of 
seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and 
North America. I did not know, however,” he added, 
“ that there was more than one sargasso sea.” 

“ That is right,” said the captain, “ as to the defini- 
tion. “ The name Sargasso Sea was originally applied 
only to the region in the North Atlantic. When, how- 
ever, it was discovered that similar accumulations of 
weeds existed in all the three central oceans — the At- 
lantic, the Pacific, and the Indian — the name was ap- 
plied to any place where this accumulation existed.” 
i3 2 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Is there much seaweed in the sargasso seas ? ” 
inquired Harold. 

“ Yes,” Harold, the amount is enormous. Take, for 
example, the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. 
Here there are patches of weeds that have collected or 
grown so as to cover large portions of an area fully 
as large as the valley of the Mississippi. In some parts 
of this sea the weed is so dense that it looks from a 
distance as though one could walk on it. Columbus 
entered it during his first voyage and found the weeds 
so dense in places as markedly to retard the progress 
of his vessel. Indeed, his men were so alarmed that 
they believed they had reached the limits of naviga- 
tion, and Columbus had difficulty in persuading them 
to continue the voyage.” 

“ Captain,” inquired Jack, “ do you suppose the 
sargasso sea marked on the chart of the Pacific Ocean, 
north of the tropic of Capricorn, contains large quan- 
tities of seaweed.” 

“‘Yes, Jack,” was the reply. 

“ Pd like to get into a sargasso sea, Uncle Arthur,” 
exclaimed Harold, “ it must look very queer to see such 
quantities of seaweed.” 

“In what ocean current are we now?” inquired 
Jack. 

The captain, who had of course taken daily observa- 
tions of the sun by means of the excellent instruments 
he found in the cabin, placed his hand on a certain 
portion of the chart and said : 

“ We are now floating in this current.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The boys looked at the name marked on the map of 
the Pacific and read the words Kuro Sivo. 

“What do these words mean, uncle?” inquired 
Harold. 

“ They mean the ‘ Black Water.’ ” 

“ But,” objected Harold, “ the water of the ocean 
where we are is not black but is of a deep blue color. 
Jack and I have been talking about it during the last 
four or five days.” 

“ It takes its name ‘ black water ’ from the depth of 
the blue color. It would be more correct to call it 
the ‘ deep blue water.’ The name Kuro Sivo is a 
Japanese name. The current is frequently known as 
the Japan Current.” 


134 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER X 

A Talk on Ocean Currents 

The captain’s talk had greatly interested the boys. 
It contained so much information concerning strange 
things that they were eager to learn more, and seeing 
that he was apparently not very busy, they began 
urging him to give them some additional information. 

“ Captain,” exclaimed Jack, “ do these currents 
always flow in the same direction ? ” 

“ Practically so,” was the reply. “ It is for this 
reason that the regular currents are called constant 
ocean currents. You can always count on finding 
them.” 

“ They’re like great rivers in the ocean, aren’t 
they ? ” exclaimed Harold. 

“ Yes,” said the captain, “ they resemble rivers, but 
are greatly larger and carry much more water than the 
greatest rivers of the earth.” 

“ Larger than the Mississippi River?” inquired 
Harold. 

“ Vastly larger,” was the reply. “ The Gulf Stream, 
the name given to the ocean current that flows north- 
east off the coast of North America, carries, it has 
been estimated, an amount of water that is many 
thousand times greater than that of the Mississippi 
River.” 


135 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ won’t you 
please tell us what are the exact causes of ocean 
currents ? ” 

“ I wish I could, my lad,” exclaimed the captain 
smiling, “ but no one can do that. While the general 
peculiarities of ocean currents are fairly well known, 
all their exact causes are yet to be discovered. I can, 
however, tell you what are believed to be the general 
causes. Of course, any theory to be satisfactory must 
not only explain the causes that set the water in motion, 
but must also explain the directions of these motions. 
Now,” he said, taking a book from one of the book- 
shelves and opening it at a full-page map, “ here is a 
map of the world showing the directions of the ocean 
currents. Though smaller than the charts you have 
examined, yet it shows the three central oceans. I 
want you to examine it and tell me whether you can 
find any respects in which the directions of the currents 
are the same in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian 
Oceans.” 

“ Here’s one way in which they agree,” exclaimed 
Harold. “ In all of them the water near the Equator 
crosses the ocean from east to west.” 

“ And,” said Jack, “ in all these oceans in the regions 
beyond the equator they cross the ocean from west to 
east.” 

“ Where do these eastwardly flowing currents come 
from, Jack? ” inquired the captain. 

“ Why,” answered Jack, “ when the westwardly 
flowing currents at the Equator reach the continents 
136 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


they begin moving toward the north and south and 
are finally again turned toward the east.” 

“ Here’s another way in which they agree,” said 
Harold. “ They all have the big whirligigs or merry- 
go-rounds inside of which the sargasso seas are 
located.” 

“ Here’s still another way in which they agree,” said 
Jack. “ In each of these oceans, currents flow from 
the Antarctic Ocean toward the northeast.” 

“ Now,” exclaimed the captain, “ tell me some ways 
in which the currents in these oceans do not agree.” 

“ There is an opposite current in the Pacific north 
of the Equator called the Equatorial Counter Current 
that moves across the ocean from west to east,” said 
Harold. 

“ Jack,” said the captain, “ can you point to any 
other differences ? ” 

“ The currents in the North Atlantic,” said Jack, 
“ necessarily differ because that ocean is wide open 
to the Arctic. Again, in the Indian Ocean the current 
which flows from east to west is situated south of the 
Equator, while near the Equator in this ocean the 
current flows from west to east.” 

“ That’s very good, boys,” exclaimed the captain. 
“ You will notice that in the North Atlantic there is a 
current that enters the ocean from the north, that flows 
south along the eastern coast of Greenland, and con- 
tinues along the eastern shores of North America 
inside of the Gulf Stream as a counter current; that is, 
a current flowing in the opposite direction to that of 
137 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the Gulf Stream. This southwardly flowing current 
divides off the southern end of Greenland a part flow- 
ing up its western coast. 

“ Having now,” continued the captain, “ seen the 
general directions of the ocean currents, let us see if 
we can find the force or forces that set them in motion. 
For my part, I think there can be no reasonable doubt 
that the principal cause of ocean currents is to be found 
in the difference of density of the waters due to the dif- 
ference of temperature between the equatorial and the 
polar regions. The intense cold of the polar regions 
causes the polar waters as they lose their heat to become 
denser and sink to the bottom, thus forming a moun- 
tainous accumulation of dense, cold water. Of course 
this hill of water tends to spread out over the floor of 
the ocean and to flow as an undercurrent toward the 
Equator. This lowering of the level of the polar waters 
is believed to make the warmer equatorial waters move 
toward the poles, so that there is in this way a general 
movement of the equatorial waters set up toward the 
poles, and of the polar waters toward the Equator. 
Since these two currents are flowing in opposite di- 
rections, one must flow underneath the other. Of 
course it is the colder, denser water that is generally 
the undercurrent. When, however, these oppositely 
moving waters reach a shallow part of the ocean, the 
colder current rises to the surface deflecting or throw- 
ing the warmer current into the deeper regions. This 
is what happens along the eastern shores of the United 
States, where the current from the Arctic Ocean has 

138 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


become the surface current and has pushed the Gulf 
Stream into the deeper water of the ocean at a fairly 
considerable distance from the shores of North 
America.” 

“ But, captain,” said Jack, “ while this difference of 
temperature would account for the general movement 
of the waters between the equatorial and the polar 
regions, yet it would not account for the directions 
that these currents take as marked on the map.” 

“ You are right, Jack,” was the reply, “ so that in 
addition to this cause, which as you know is constantly 
acting, for the equatorial regions are always warmer 
than the polar regions, it is necessary to introduce 
other constantly acting causes, and these are the shapes 
of the ocean-beds and the rotation of the earth. As you 
know our earth is constantly turning or spinning on its 
axis from west to east. If our earth had no rotation 
on its axis the currents, except as turned out of their 
courses by the continents, would flow due north and 
south, but as the earth rotates, the currents are turned 
out of their course so that those from the Equator move 
toward the east while those from the poles move 
toward the west. Moreover, since the waters from the 
poles are unable to acquire the eastwardly motion of 
the earth, they reach the Equator with a less rapid mo- 
tion than that of the earth, which, slipping from under 
them, causes them to cross the ocean from east to 
west.” 

It was evident that this explanation bothered both of 
the boys, especially Harold. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I can’t understand that, Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed 
Harold. 

“ Nor can I,” exclaimed Jack. “ It seems to me that 
if that was the explanation, the waters would really be 
moving toward the east although they were crossing 
the ocean toward the west.” 

“ That’s right,” replied the captain, “ and that’s just 
what they do. For example, in the Pacific, which as 
you know is the widest ocean, by the time the waters 
reach its western border they have acquired more 
nearly the eastward motion of the earth and actually 
cross the ocean toward the east.” 

“ Oh, I think I begin to understand it,” said Jack. 
“ Then that is what causes the Equatorial Counter 
Current in the Pacific.” 

“ Correct,” was the reply. 

“ But then,” continued Jack, “ should there not be 
similar currents in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans? ” 

“ There should,” said the captain, “ and in point of 
fact there are currents that correspond to a certain 
extent with the Equatorial Counter Current of the 
Pacific. Do you understand that, Harold ? ” he con- 
tinued turning to the lad. 

“ No, uncle, I am sorry to say that I do not,” was 
the reply. “ I guess it’s too much for me. I’ll have 
to wait until I get as old as Jack.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know,” said the captain, “ I think I 
can make it clear to you. Let me tell you a story that 
may help you. This story illustrates the danger of 
knowing only a little in science.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I’d like to hear the story, uncle, especially if it 
will help me to understand this thing.” 

“ All right, Harold, here’s the story. A man who 
did not learn until late in life about the rotation of the 
earth on its axis could hardly believe that it was turn- 
ing rapidly enough toward the east to make one com- 
plete turn every twenty-four hours. He knew a little, 
about science and was able to a certain extent to rea- 
son, and knowing that the earth was twenty-five thou- 
sand miles around at the Equator, he said to the per- 
son who assured him of its rotation : 

“ ‘ Why, I can’t believe that. If true, a point on the 
Equator would move toward the east at the rate of 
about one thousand and thirty-five miles an hour.’ 

“ ‘ I can assure you, however,’ said his informer, 

‘ that it does so move, and that any educated person 
you inquire of will tell you that it does.’ 

“ At last, becoming convinced of the fact, the man 
made as he believed, a wonderful invention, saying to 
himself : 

“ ‘ How strange it is that no one has ever thought 
of this before. By availing myself of this great 
natural principle I shall be able to travel as fast as if 
I owned the fabled seven-leagued boots. I will build 
a balloon, and rising high enough in the air not to be 
struck by the mountains as they move past,, will wait 
until the earth flies beneath me at this wonderful rate. 
As soon as the part of the earth I wish to visit comes 
under me I will let the gas out of the balloon and 
descend.’ ” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


When Jack heard the story he laughed heartily and 
said : 

“ The man forgot that not only is the earth rapidly 
moving toward the east during its rotation, but that 
also all objects on it, including the atmosphere and the 
balloon itself, are moving just as fast, so that when he 
came down, except so far as he was blown out of 
his position by the wind, he simply landed on the spot 
from which he had ascended. ,, 

“ I understand that,” exclaimed Harold. “ It is like 
when one is riding on a railroad train and jumps in the 
air from the floor of the car; the car doesn’t slip from 
under him, but moving as fast as he does causes him 
to strike the floor at the same spot from which he 
jumps.” 

“ Besides that,” said Jack who was still laughing, 
“ even if the mountains didn’t strike him while he was 
descending, and supposing that the earth was slipping 
from under him, which of course it wasn’t doing, he 
could no more have safely landed on it than could 
Baron Munchausen do what he claimed to have done 
in the case of that wonderful yarn he spun concerning 
the cannon-balls.” 

■ “ I never heard that story, Jack,” exclaimed Harold. 

“ Let me hear it.” 

“ Munchausen,” said Jack, “ says that once, while 
on the ramparts of a walled town that was being at- 
tacked by the enemy with siege guns, wishing to obtain 
information of their numbers and disposition, adopted 
the expedient, which I believe he called a simple expe- 
142 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


dient, of standing near the muzzle of a huge gun just 
as it was about to be discharged, when, dexterously 
stepping on the ball as it came out of the gun, was car- 
ried with it over the enemy’s camp. Having made the 
necessary observations, and being ready to return, he 
waited until he met a ball fired from the enemy toward 
the besieged town, and, again dexterously stepping on 
this ball, remained there until it reached the town when 
he again stepped from it and made his report to those 
in charge of the defense.” 

“That’s a good yarn, Jack,” exclaimed Harold; 
“ you say he called this a simple device. It certainly 
was very simple.” 

“ Well, Harold,” inquired the captain, “ do you 
think you can understand now somewhat better the 
cause of the Equatorial Counter Current and why the 
North and South Equatorial Currents move in a 
direction opposite to that of the earth’s rotation ? ” 

“ Thank you, uncle,” said Harold, “ I think I under- 
stand it better than I did.” 

“ I certainly understand it,” remarked Jack. “ More- 
over, I see now why the Equatorial Currents on their 
movements toward the poles are deflected toward the 
.east, for these waters having acquired the eastward 
motion of the earth in the equatorial regions are mov- 
ing more rapidly toward the east than the earth is in 
the regions beyond the Equator. But what, sir,” he 
continued, “ causes the currents to return toward the 
Equator on the western side of the continent? ” 

“ Jack,” inquired the captain, “ how big a hole do 
143 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


you think you could make in the waters of the ocean 
if you rapidly bailed the water out with a bucket and 
threw it to one side? ” 

“ Why,” exclaimed Jack, “ do you think I’m as 
stupid as that, captain? I couldn’t make any hole, try 
as hard as I might, for the water would rush in from 
all sides and fill it as fast as I could bail out the water. 

“ And yet,” said the captain, “ in the fact that you 
have just given me you will find the explanation you 
asked for. If the water did not flow in from some part 
of the ocean there would be a huge hole left on the 
western shores of the continent where the equatorial 
waters began moving from east to west.” 

“ Thank you, captain,” said Jack. “ I think I now 
understand fairly well the causes of ocean currents.” 

“ And so do I,” said Harold. “ But I say, uncle,” 
he continued, “ do I understand that the bottom of the 
ocean, even at the Equator, is covered by a layer of 
very cold water? ” 

“ Yes, Harold, that’s right.” 

“ Then if you lowered anything deep enough into 
the water it would be made cold.” 

“ It would,” replied his uncle laughing. “ I know 
that when vessels are becalmed at the Equator and the 
ice supply is limited, the officers sometimes lower their 
bottles to great depths and find on bringing them to 
the surface, after some time, that they are almost as 
cold as if they had been placed on ice.” 

“ That’s a jolly idea,” said Harold. 

“ But, boys,” said the captain, “ you must not think 
144 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


that the differences of temperature between the Equator 
and the poles are the only cause of constant currents 
in the ocean. Lieutenant Maury and others are dis- 
posed to think that the differences of density between 
the waters of the Equator and of the poles, caused by 
the greater evaporation at the Equator, would also 
result in setting up currents between these two parts; 
of the earth. It is difficult to see how these opposite 
causes, the decrease in density produced by expansion 
and the increase in density caused by evaporation, 
could fail to antagonize each other so that the resulting 
currents would be those due to the differences of the 
actions and not to their sum. This part, however, 
of the causes of ocean currents is too difficult to take 
up with you now. 

“ Another explanation of ocean currents/’ he con- 
tinued, “ finds their cause in the wind. Without going 
into this theory, I will say that while there can be no 
doubt that the winds are of great importance in many 
cases in aiding ocean currents by causing a drift of 
the water in the direction in which they are flowing, 
yet they cannot be regarded as the sole cause. Besides, 
if the winds make the surface currents what is it that 
causes either the counter or the undercurrents? ” 

“ Captain,” remarked Jack, “ I believe the Gulf, 
Stream was the first ocean current studied by scientific 
men, was it not ? ” 

“ Yes, Jack,” was the reply, “ I remember reading 
a statement made by an early writer that the Missis- 
sippi River was the ‘ Father of the Gulf Stream ’ ; that 
k 145 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


it was the water discharged by this river that caused 
the Gulf Stream, and its velocity could therefore be 
computed from the velocity of the river. Captain 
Livingston showed the incorrectness of this explana- 
tion by a calculation which demonstrated that at least 
three thousand times more water escaped from the Gulf 
of Mexico through the Gulf Stream than is emptied 
into it by the Mississippi River. Moreover, instead 
of being fresher than the rest of the waters of the 
ocean, the waters of the Gulf Stream are much salter 
and have the same deep blue color we see in the waters 
of the Kuro Sivo, or the Japan Current, through which 
we are now moving. It is well known at the salt works 
in France and along the shores of the Adriatic, where 
sea-water is led into vats or shallow pools on the coast 
and exposed to evaporation by the sun’s heat, that the 
longer the water evaporates and the salter it grows, the 
deeper becomes its blue color. When the salts it con- 
tains are about to crystallize it takes on a reddish tint. 
The waters of the Gulf Stream, even as far north as the 
Carolina coasts, are of so deep an indigo blue that one 
can easily see where they pass through the ordinary 
sea-water. Indeed, so sharp is this line that a vessel 
can sometimes be seen to be floating one-half in the 
waters of the Gulf Stream and the other half in the or- 
dinary waters of the ocean.” 

“ Uncle,” inquired Harold, “ are ocean currents of 
any use besides the carrying of vessels with them as 
well as derelicts that smash things when they strike 
them?” 


146 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Yes, Harold/’ was the reply, “ they are of much 
use. Besides the aid they afford in the navigation of 
sailing vessels, for steamers make comparatively little 
use of ocean currents, they greatly modify the extremes 
of the earth’s climate, that is, they cause the equatorial 
regions to be much less hot, and the polar regions to be 
much less cold, than they would otherwise be. Of 
course, you can understand that, since, as soon as the 
waters at the poles become cold they flow toward the 
equatorial region, and as soon as the waters at the 
Equator become heated they move toward the poles, the 
climate of both of these regions is rendered less severe 
— the polar waters cooling the equatorial regions and 
the equatorial waters heating the polar regions.” 

“ I can understand that,” exclaimed Harold, “ it’s 
a sort of a swap or trade, isn’t it. The equatorial 
regions have more heat than they want and the polar 
regions more cold than they want, so they swap even 
and thus make the climate less severe.” 

“ That’s an excellent illustration, Harold,” said his 
uncle. “ I guess, boys, we have had enough of ocean 
currents. You had better go out on the deck now and 
I’ll finish my reading.” 


147 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XI 

A Steamer Sighted. The New Overcoats 

It must not be supposed that Captain Harding and his 
three companions had planned to spend an indefinite 
time on the brig. It is true they had given much 
thought to making themselves comfortable, but at the 
same time they had not failed to make every effort to 
speak with any vessel they might meet. As soon as 
they had found some lanterns among the stores of 
the brig they placed them on the bow and stern of the 
vessel in order not only to make their presence known 
to any passing vessel, but also as to indicate the di- 
rection in which they were moving. These lights were 
placed as follows : a green light on the starboard side 
of the vessel and a red light on the port side. They 
also displayed distress signals, consisting of a square 
flag with a circle above it, but having no masts on the 
brig they had difficulty in properly flying it. For the 
same reason they were unable to display the usual 
white light on the mast-head and were obliged to re- 
place it by a light at the end of the bowsprit. 

Thus far they had sighted several vessels, but all 
of these had been at such a distance that the presence 
of the brig apparently had not been observed, and no 
chance was afforded of speaking to them. On one 
occasion, however, Hiram, who had .been on duty as 
148 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


lookout, had been scanning the sea with field-glasses, 
caught sight of a column of smoke on the horizon 
which he believed was coming from the smokestack 
of a steamer. He therefore reported at once to the 
captain, saying : 

“ A column of smoke kin be seen ahead over our 
bows, sir. I think it be the smoke of a steamer.” 

The captain, who was in the cabin, went immediately 
on deck and, turning his glass to the distant object, 
said : 

“ Too far off to be certain, Hiram, although I think 
it is the smoke of a steamer. If she is heading this 
way we will soon know for sure.” 

About an hour later the captain said : 

“ You are right, Hiram, it is a steamer. I can ju;t 
make her out. Here,” he continued, “ take my glasses 
for a moment. They are very powerful.” 

Hiram took the glasses and after looking for a while, 
said : 

“ It’s a steamer all right, cap’in, and she’s headin’ 
straight fer us.” 

“ Then I may soon be in Japan,” said Harold exult- 
ingly, “ and see father and mother.” 

. “ Yes, Harold,” said the captain, “ if the steamer 

takes the trouble to speak to us and send off a boat.” 

“ Why, captain,” said Jack, “ you surely don’t think 
that any vessel would fail to send help to a boat in 
distress like ours ? ” 

“ What do you say to that, Hiram ? ” asked the 
captain, not answering Jack directly. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“I hev known it to be done, sir,” was the reply; 
“ though, uv course, not ef the cap’in be the right 
sort of a man.” 

They had been looking so intently all this time in 
the direction of the approaching steamer that they 
had entirely failed to observe the opposite direction, or 
that immediately over the vessel’s stern. At last Jack, 
who happened to look in this direction, was surprised 
at the angry appearance of the sky. A severe storm 
was evidently rising rapidly. 

“ Captain,” he cried excitedly, “ look over the stern. 
A heavy squall is rising ! ” 

“ Yes, and more’n a squall,” said Hiram, not waiting 
for the captain to answer. “ I guess ye might call it 
a storm.” 

“ Yes,” replied the captain, as if in answer to both' 
Jack and Hiram; “ and a heavy storm too.” 

“ Do you think it will strike us before we speak the 
steamer ? ” inquired Harold anxiously. 

“ I fear so,” answered the captain. “ What do you 
think, Hiram? ” 

“ I think that ’ere storm will strike us long afore 
the steamer gits here.” 

“ Well, Hiram,” said the captain, “ we have no sails 
to reef, but we must cover all the hatchways and close 
the portholes, and the doors and the windows of the 
cabin and the chartroom.” 

This was soon done. All remained on deck watch- 
ing the approaching storm. The barometer was low 
and rapidly falling. As both the captain and Hiram 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


had predicted the storm rose rapidly. The entire 
heavens were soon overcast and a heavy rain began 
to fall, which so narrowed the view that the sight of 
the steamer was soon lost. They were careful to see 
that their lights were burning. The sea rose so rapidly 
that the deck was occasionally washed by the waves. 
The storm continued for fully six hours when it ceased 
almost as rapidly as it had risen, literally blowing itself 
out. Of course, the first thing they did was to scan 
the horizon in all directions with their glasses for the 
steamer, but she was nowhere to be seen. 

“ Well,” said Harold sorrowfully, “ we won’t be 
helped by that ship.” 

“ No,” said Jack, “ but perhaps another will come 
before long.” 

The captain did not say anything but continued 
scanning the horizon with his glasses to see if some 
faint traces of the steamer’s smoke might not be seen. 
Failing to discover any traces he went into the cabin 
leaving Hiram and the two boys on deck. 

“ Hiram,” said Jack, “ I suppose of course you are 
very sorry that the steamer has passed us? ” 

Now Jack did not for a moment believe that Hiram 
would make any other answer than that of course he 
was sorry — that probably before long another vessel 
would be seen when they would have better luck. He 
was, therefore, greatly surprised when Hiram turned 
to him and said: 

“ Not I, Mr. Jack. On the contraree, I’m mighty 
glad she missed us.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Why, Hiram,” exclaimed Jack, “ you surprise me ! 
If we were on the steamer we would be safe and would 
have a good chance of reaching land, but here we don’t 
know what may happen.” 

“ Now, Mr. Jack,” exclaimed Hiram, “ I’m mighty 
glad ye asked me that ’ere question, fer the cap’in and 
me don’t agree on it. Ye see it’s jest this way. This 
here bark hez a waluble cargo and so would make 
mighty good sal wage. Now ef we remain on her we 
ought to manage somehow er other to take her into 
some port, when we could each of us make a pile of 
money. On t’other hand, ef the steamer should hev 
took us, if I onderstand the matter right, it wouldn’t 
be us that could get this salwage; it would be the 
steamer. Now the cap’in agrees with me that there 
be a’most no chances that the brig would founder even 
in heavy weather, and thet ef we kep long enuff on 
her we might think out some plan fer takin’ her into 
port. But cap’in won’t do this sence, as he says, the 
lives of you two boys hev been placed in his charge, 
and he ain’t goin’ to let the chance of makin’ money 
stand in the way of your getting home. Uv course, 
I don’t blame him fer this, and stand ready to do all 
I kin to help him. Consequently, I’ll do the straight 
and treu thing and help him to draw the attention of 
any passing wessel to us, though I’m free to confess I 
ain’t hankering to be took off this here brig.” 

“ Well, Hiram,” said Jack, when he had finished 
speaking, “ I’m sure I can’t blame you for feeling as 
you do. As for me,” he said sorrowfully, “ you know 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


I’ve recently lost both father and mother, so it makes 
little difference where I am. But for Harold’s sake,” 
he continued, “ I certainly hope a vessel will pick us 
up before long.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Harold, “ let us try our best to 
speak some passing vessel and get aboard of her. 
Although,” he added in a philosophical manner, “ if 
we can’t get off, the brig is an all-right place to be on, 
and we’ll have jolly times seeing the different parts of 
the Pacific. Why, it’s like having a private yacht and 
being taken on it to see the different sights of the 
ocean, and at the same time learning lots about scien- 
tific things from Uncle Arthur. I say, Jack,” he con- 
tinued, “ wouldn’t you like to see more of the mysteries 
of this great ocean and hear Uncle Arthur spin us 
yarns out of those books in the library, and show us 
how to use the scientific instruments in the cabin ? ” 

“ I would indeed, Harold,” was the reply. 
“ Whether we are taken from the brig or not I shall 
be very happy as long as I can remain with the captain 
and with you.” 

“ Hurrah, my lads ! ” exclaimed Hiram, “ it’s glad 
I am to hear ye talk that way. Nevertheless, notwith- 
standing, don’t forgit that Hiram Higgenbotham 
stands ready and treu to do all he kin to git ye off 
this brig, salwage or no sal wage.” 

The first opportunity Jack had of doing so privately 
he gave the captain in full the conversation he had 
with Hiram. 

“ Yes, I know, Jack,” replied the captain, “ Hiram 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


and I have talked the matter over several times. Now, 
I don’t blame him for feeling this way. Indeed, were 
it not for you and Harold, especially Harold, who is 
my brother’s son, I would never for a moment think of 
endeavoring to attract the attention of a passing vessel, 
but would take my chance of finding some means for 
getting the brig into port and thus making a pile of 
money. But, should I do this, and anything should 
happen to Harold, I would be ashamed to look my 
brother in the face, for it would show that I cared more 
for making money than I did for the lad’s safety. Nor 
could I look his mother in the face after I had kept her 
so long in suspense as to the safety of her boy. No, 
Jack,” he continued, “ I am making every effort to 
speak with any vessel we may meet so as to reach the 
nearest port and thus get word to Yokohama, by tele- 
graph, to let them know that we are safe and are on 
our way home.” 

“ Well, captain,” said Jack, " let me say, as I said 
to Hiram, that were it not for the natural wish of 
Harold to return home as soon as possible to see his 
father and mother, I would be just as well pleased to 
remain on the brig with you as I would to get on 
another vessel. We are safe here, and since I have 
neither father nor mother and no home to go to except 
that which Harold’s people have kindly offered me, I 
would be just as happy here as I would anywhere else. 
"Indeed,” he added affectionately, "since I have known 
you, captain, I have grown to like you almost as much 
as if you were my father. Say we go on another 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


vessel and I reach Japan, what would I do? why, go 
on studying for several years longer. Now here,” he 
said, “ with you as a teacher, with this splendid library 
of books, and these magnificent physical instruments, 
and the whole Pacific Ocean to study, where could 
I find a better school ? Besides, what is better than all, 
I would be with you,” he continued affectionately, 
“ and that would satisfy me if there was nothing else.” 

“ Is that the way you feel, Jack? ” said the captain. 
“ I am indeed glad to know that you are beginning to 
care for me. Let me tell you, Jack, that I have gone 
on much further with you than that. I have loved you 
from almost the first time I saw you. I have no boy of 
my own, and I’ve often thought how glad I would be 
if I had you in place of a son.” 

“ It makes me very happy to hear you say this,” 
cried Jack, putting his arms around the captain’s neck 
and kissing him. “ I have loved you for a long time, 
and now I feel more closely drawn to you than ever.” 

After this conversation Jack was to be found more 
frequently in the cabin either reading books or talk- 
ing to the captain. It must not be supposed, how- 
ever, that he kept away from Harold. On the con- 
trary, the boys were much together playing with the 
dog and parrot, and teaching them tricks. Harold too, 
who had become much interested in physical science, 
frequently joined Jack in the library in reading or talk- 
ing with his uncle. It is just possible that one reason 
Jack confined his reading to scientific books was that 
there was no other kind in the captain’s library. How- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ever, he did read them and, as we have already said, 
became greatly interested in the things they contained. 

One day when Jack and Harold, leaving Hiram on 
deck, had gone into the cabin, they found the captain 
with a pair of large tailor shears in his hand, appar- 
ently about to cut one of the new blankets they had 
found among the stores and which he had spread out 
on the top of the table. 

“ Why, Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ what 
are you doing? Are you going to try your hand at 
tailoring? ” 

“ Yes, Harold,” was the reply, and then turning to 
Jack he added, “ Jack, do you know how to sew? ” 

“ I can’t say that I do, sir,” was the reply. “ I think 
I could manage to take stitches that would hold pieces 
of cloth together ; but why do you ask? ” 

“ I intend trying to make some of these blankets into 
overcoats. We didn’t bring heavy clothing in our boat, 
so I must try to make these blankets into overcoats. I 
can’t promise what the fit will be, but I am sure of one 
thing — they will be warm.” 

“ Making overcoats for us, uncle,” exclaimed 
Harold in surprise. “ Why, except in the early morn- 
ings and evenings, it is so warm that Jack and I have 
been glad to leave our coats and vests off and even roll 
up our shirt-sleeves.” 

“ That’s all very well now, Harold,” replied his 
uncle laughing, “ but the Japan Current is every day 
carrying us farther north. We are now in latitude 42 0 
N. Before long we shall reach a part of the world 

156 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


where the climate will be colder, and although in the 
Northern Pacific the temperature is seldom very low, as 
the water of the Japan Current still retains much heat, 
yet at times the air is cold enough to make overcoats 
quite comfortable. We might, indeed, be carried by the 
currents into latitudes as high as 6o° N., where the air 
is often very cold. We must therefore get ready, as far 
as we can, to keep ourselves comfortably warm under 
such circumstances.” 

“ Do you think, captain,” inquired Jack, “ that the 
currents may carry us as far as 6o° N. ? ” 

“ I don’t believe they will, Jack,” was the reply, “ but 
I think we will almost certainly get as far as 50° N. 
It is now late in August and snow-squalls, indeed, even 
snow-storms, are common in these latitudes. More- 
over, the winds in these parts of the ocean are very 
boisterous, so that we should be very uncomfortable 
without heavy clothing. It is for this reason that I 
asked you whether you could sew. And for the same 
reason I would like to know whether you can sew, 
Harold.” 

“ I can take some kind of stitches, uncle,” replied 
Harold. “ But if it comes to sewing, why don’t you 
ask Hiram to help you. He can sew all right. You 
ought to have seen him make this patch in my trousers 
the other day when I tore them while playing with 
Rompey,” showing the captain a well-made patch. 

“ That’s an excellent thought,” said the captain. 
“ Go and ask Hiram to come here.” 

Harold ran on deck to Hiram and said : 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I say, Hiram, the captain says please come into the 
cabin and bring some thread and needles with you. 
He has a piece of sewing he wants you to help him do.” 

“ Now, Mr. Harold,” said Hiram laughing, “ I 
know you are jollying me. Captain Harding don’t 
sew, en I ain’t goin’ to him and hev him laugh at me fer 
believing such a cock-and-bull story.” 

“ Indeed, Hiram,” said Harold, “ I’m not kidding 
you. Upon my honor as a gentleman,” he added 
gravely, employing a phrase common in English 
schools when a boy endeavors to prove the truth of 
what he is saying by pledging his word on the honor 
of a gentleman. 

“ Wall, Mr. Harold, ef ye kin tell me treu that the 
cap’in wants to sew, of course I’ll obey orders and go 
and help him.” 

Harold then explained about the overcoats and 
blankets, and the captain’s reasons for thinking they 
would need them. 

“ I onderstand ye now, Mr. Harold. Wait a mo- 
ment till I git my thread and needles and I’ll go with 
ye to the kebin.” 

When he saw the captain, Hiram exclaimed : 

! “ I axes ye to scuse me, cap’in, fer not cornin’ im- 

mediate’. I feered Mr. Harold wuz foolin’ me. What 
kin I do fer ye, sir? ” 

“ Harold tells me you can sew. Is this right? ” 

“ I allow I kin, cap’in,” said Hiram laughing. 

“ Do you think you could make overcoats for all of 
us out of these blankets? ” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I sartinly kin,” replied Hiram. “ I kin make a 
whole suit of clothes. How do ye like the fit of the 
clothes I hev on ? ” 

“ They are a splendid fit, Hiram,” said the captain. 
“ The boys and I have often remarked how wonder- 
I fully well your clothes fit, and how much better they 
look than those worn by the rest of the sailors.” 

Hiram was evidently pleased with this statement. 

“ Wall, I’ll tell ye treu,” he said, “ I made this hull 
suit of clothes meself. I don’t seem to want ez much 
sleep ez most of the sailors, so I hev so much time at 
sea thet I manage to make my own clothes besides 
doing other little odd jobs.” 

“ Then, Hiram,” said the captain, much pleased at 
what he had heard, “ you are the man we want. As 
you know, we are rapidly approaching the Aleutian 
Island Chain, and while the weather there is never 
severely cold, yet snow-squalls are common, with 
strong gales. We shall therefore soon need warmer 
clothing. I suppose overcoats could be made for us 
out of these blankets, do you not think so ? ” 

“ Easy, sir,” was the reply; “ but if ye air in a hurry 
fer these coats ye must all turn in and take a hand at 
sewing. Suppose I make the first coat fer Mr. 
Harold.” 

“ All right,” said Harold, “ begin with me.” 

“ Do ye want eny particular style, Mr. Harold ? ” 
asked Hiram in a joking tone. 

“ Make it a reefer, please, Hiram,” said Harold. 

“ You mean them kind of overcoats wot comes in 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


two thicknesses in front when buttoned up? ” inquired 
Hiram. 

“ That’s the kind,” said Harold. 

“ Very well,” was the reply, “ I kin make ye one of 
them easy, fer ef it don’t fit as snug as it orter we kin 
move the buttons back so ez to take in more of the 
cloth. Which one of them blankets do ye choose fer 
yercoat?” he added smiling. 

It is no wonder that Hiram smiled, for the blankets 
provided for sale at the mines had apparently been 
picked out on the plan that the brighter and gaudier the 
colors the better they would sell — a belief probably 
founded on experience. The four blankets the captain 
had selected contained wide stripes of the most brilliant 
colors — greens, yellows, blues, and reds predominating 
— between each of which alternate stripes of colors 
had been quite ingeniously contrasted so far as bad 
taste was concerned. 

“ Come, Jack,” said Harold laughing, “ help me 
pick out the least ugly of those blankets so that I won’t 
have a regular Joseph’s coat.” 

“ I don’t think it will make much difference, Harold, 
which you choose,” said Jack. “ You can’t help get- 
ting an awfully ugly cloth.” 

“ All right,” said Harold laughing. “ Make my 
overcoat from this blanket, Hiram,” he said pointing to 
a blanket with a red ground with broad blue and green 
stripes, alternating with narrow yellow and white 
stripes. 

“ Very well, Mr. Harold,” replied Hiram, “ thet’ll 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


make a stunning coat for sartin. Stand up here and 
I’ll measure ye.” 

Hiram’s method of measuring was so original that 
neither the captain nor Jack believed the fit would be 
much of a success. When ready for trying on, how- 
ever, they were surprised what an excellent fit it was. 
They had no little difficulty in finding buttons for the 
coat, but at last solved the problem by selecting several 
gross of the most gorgeous large-sized buttons in- 
tended for ladies’ coats. They were, moreover, made 
in the form of cheap imitation jewelry, set with pieces 
of colored glass intended to resemble diamonds, 
emeralds, and other precious stones. Indeed, when 
Harold put on his overcoat, although it proved a 
splendid fit, he looked more as if he was dressed for a 
comic opera, or as if he had given up all idea of re- 
maining an honest lad and had determined to become a 
pirate. 

It required hard continuous work for many days 
before all their coats were fitted on and completed. At 
first the sewing was very clumsily done. The needles 
were more frequently stuck into their fingers than into 
the coats. At last, however, learning by experience 
that it was easier to take aim so that the needles would 
pass through the cloth without first passing through a 
portion of their flesh, the process became more pleas- 
ant and at last they succeeded in becoming fairly good 
sewers. For want of other material Hiram had em- 
ployed portions of the highly colored printed muslins 
for lining material, so that the overcoats looked indeed 
l 161 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


stunning as Hiram had predicted, even when turned 
inside out, while, with the blanket side out, buttoned 
up with their magnificent jewelry buttons, they were 
truly astonishing to behold. 

“ We look more like walking rainbows, or like 
savages than civilized people,” suggested Jack. 

The overcoats were not made any too soon. A few 
days after their completion they struck a snow-squall 
accompanied by a furious gale of wind which, blowing 
the snow into their faces and against their bodies, ren- 
dered the use of warmer clothing very necessary. 
In a short time the deck was covered with two inches 
of snow. It did not remain long, for the sun soon came 
out rapidly melting it and left the deck dry. 


162 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XII 

Off the Shores of the Aleutian Island Chain 

If Hiram found time hanging heavily on his hands on 
the different vessels on which he had served either as 
a common sailor or as a boatswain, he found it es- 
pecially so on the brig where there were no sails to be 
attended to. It is true he had of his own choice taken 
charge of the cooking, and of course spent much of his 
time in keeping the brig tidy. These duties would have 
occupied nearly all of his time had they not been 
equally shared in, not only by the boys but by the 
captain also, who knew that some regular everyday 
work was necessary to insure the continuance of their 
health and happiness. He had therefore encouraged 
the boys to busy themselves in the ordinary duties 
about the ship and had laid out regular work for each 
day. After breakfast, which was at four bells, or 
six a. m., they all turned in, including the captain, and 
cleaned up. Dinner was at eight bells, or at noon, 
and supper at four bells, or at six p. m. A regular 
watch was kept as is usual with merchant vessels on 'the 
sea, only here the watch consisted of a single member 
of the crew. The expedient of the dog-watches was 
adopted, as already explained, in order to prevent the 
same watch always falling on the same person. 

The ordinary duties of the ship left the boys plenty 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


of time on their hands. Besides playing with Rompey 
and teaching him new tricks, which the wonderful in- 
telligence of the animal made easy work, they amused 
themselves by increasing Satan’s conversational 
powers. Then too, the books in the library always 
enabled them to spend a pleasant time either in quietly 
reading or in talking them over with the captain. Be- 
sides this the captain set aside sufficient time every day 
for giving them instruction on the many phenomena 
that were daily occurring on the ocean. Hiram, whose 
education did not so readily permit intellectual em- 
ployment, generally managed to spend his spare time 
in various bits of mechanical work. For example, 
he had cleaned off a portion of the deck, and had so 
arranged it in connection with tubes that after the 
deck had been thoroughly flushed by a heavy rain he 
could lead the rain-water through the tubes into the 
water tanks below and thus keep up their fresh- water 
supply. 

One day, after the breakfast things had been cleaned 
up, Hiram said to the captain : 

“ Captain, I hev been o’erhaulin’ the life-buoys and 
find them all right. Now while a life-buoy is mighty 
handy to hev around should a feller happen to fall 
overboard when there is some one on deck to chuck it 
arter him, yet ef no one is thar to heave it, it ain’t of 
eny use. I’ve been a-thinkin’ that you might perhaps 
like to help me make life-belts for each of us. A feller 
can’t always keep near a life-buoy when there’s chances 
of his being swept overboard, but he kin keep on a 
164 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


life-belt during sech times. What do ye think, cap’in, 
of this idee ? ” 

“ It’s admirable, Hiram,” was the reply. “ We cer- 
tainly should have life-belts. Let’s get to work at them 
now. What will you line them with ? ” he continued. 

“ Wall, I reckon the cork we have on board is the 
best thing we kin use. I’d prefer sheets of rubber for 
making air-belts, but we ain’t got no rubber.” 

“ All right, Hiram, let’s get some cork out of the 
cargo. As soon as it is dried I will cover it with some 
rubber varnish I have in the cabin in order to prevent 
it from absorbing water and thus decreasing its float- 
ing power.” 

“ I’ve hed this idee in my head fer some time,” said 
Hiram, “ and hev a lot of cork out’n the hold wot’s 
been dryin’ fer several days.” 

“ Very well, then,” said the captain, “ I’ll get the 
varnish. What material will you use for making the 
belts? I guess we can’t get any better material than 
a piece of strong sailcloth.” 

“ Yes, I hev put some aside fer thet purpose,” said 
Hiram. 

All hands were soon busily engaged in making life- 
belts. Each belt consisted of a strip of cloth wide 
enough, when doubled together throughout its length, 
to hold the varnished pieces of cork, which were then 
firmly held in place by stitches passed through the 
sailcloth. The needles employed were sail-needles 
threaded with strong twine, both of which Hiram had 
obtained from the boatswain’s locker found on the 

165 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


brig. Besides being buttoned together when fastened 
around the waist of the wearer, they were strongly 
tied by ends of thin ropes firmly secured to the canvas. 
When so made, life-belts placed around the body im- 
mediately under the armpits, are capable of keeping 
the body in an upright position in the water. 

But an undertaking that required much thought 
and work was something to take the place of the open 
boat in which they had left the Ketrel, and which 
had been wrecked on unexpectedly meeting the brig. 
Both the captain and Hiram were constantly regret- 
ting its loss. All the boats had been taken from the 
brig by its crew when the vessel was abandoned off 
the shores of South America. One day while he was 
rearranging the stores Hiram was greatly rejoiced to 
find a number of oar-locks together with two pairs of 
oars in good condition. At once informing the captain 
of this important discovery, he remarked : 

“ Cap’in, it ’pears to me thet we could build some- 
thing that could be used for a life-boat. We hev 
nothing to stand off in from the brig fer a short dis- 
tance should we need to pick something up out’n the 
water. Now I kin pick some lumber out of the hold 
en, by putting our heads together, we kin build some- 
thing wot’ll do for a boat. What do ye think of this 
idee, cap’in ; shall we try it ? ” 

“ We certainly will,” replied the captain. “ It’s a 
splendid idea,” he continued enthusiastically. “ Come 
into the cabin and we’ll plan the boat.” 

After much thought and argument it was determined 
1 66 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


to build a boat somewhat after the model of a ship’s 
whaleboat, in which the inclination or flare of the boat 
is the same at the bow as at the stern. The boat they 
planned was twelve feet fore and aft, and fairly wide 
athwart, that is to say, it was twelve feet in length and 
fairly wide from side to side. Instead of leaving lockers 
at the bow and stern for the reception of articles, these 
portions were made airtight, thus rendering it impos- 
sible to sink the boat. Besides this, buoys were formed 
of canvas filled with varnished cork shavings and placed 
along the sides of the boat. The boat took several 
weeks to complete. Hiram feared he would have con- 
siderable difficulty in obtaining wood for the boat that 
was not water-logged. Fortunately the boards had 
been treated with chemicals to prevent them from rot- 
ting, these chemicals being of such a nature as to pre- 
vent the entrance of water, a fact, as the captain pointed 
out, which greatly increased the bouyancy of the brig. 

When completed the boat was suspended on the 
davits at the stern and rigged up with the necessary 
tackle for letting it down into and taking it out of 
the water. 

As has already been remarked, Hiram was a skilful 
carpenter and joiner. He had picked up considerable 
knowledge of ship carpentry while at sea. The boat, 
therefore, when completed, was far from being the 
clumsy contrivance it would have been had its builders 
had no experience in this direction. They had no diffi- 
culty in rowing it much more rapidly than the brig was 
drifting. It was agreed, however, that unless it be- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


came necessary to abandon the brig, the boat should 
never be used at one time by all the crew. That one, or 
preferably two, should always be left on the brig ; that, 
moreover, the boat should never be permitted to be 
taken beyond easy hailing distance of the brig. 

As they drifted farther and farther north fogs be- 
came more common until at last the foggy weather was 
the rule and not the exception. These fogs were so 
dense that it was impossible to see farther than a few 
hundred yards from the vessel. Occasionally, however, 
the fogs would lift and the air clear, thus permitting 
them to see the distant horizon. One day when they 
were in the neighborhood of latitude 50° N. the fog 
temporarily lifted, when they saw on the larboard, or 
left-hand side of the brig as they stood facing the bow, 
a long chain of islands extending from east to west. 
Although they were at some considerable distance from 
them, yet the air happened then to be quite clear and 
the sun brightly shining, so that they could see by the 
use of the glasses that the islands were quite moun- 
tainous. 

“What islands are those, captain?” inquired Jack. 

“ The Aleutian Island Chain,” was the reply. 

By the use of the powerful glasses formerly belong- 
ing to Doctor Parsons they could see that the moun- 
tains extended generally in the direction of the islands. 
The highest peaks were covered with snow, and al- 
though their slopes were entirely devoid of forests, 
yet they were covered with a wonderfully rich golden 
carpet of peat moss formed of the sphagnum, while 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


their stony bluffs were almost hidden by chocolate- 
brown and reddish-colored lichens. 

It was so beautiful a sight that it strongly impressed 
itself on their memories. Though the waters were of a 
less deep blue than those of the Kuro Sivo, which they 
had now left some time ago, they were of a light blue 
that contrasted magnificently with the mountains, so 
that the bright sunlight, which was then momentarily 
lighting up their slopes, caused the snow-clad summits 
and the many colored slopes to contrast beautifully 
with the blue in the water and the sky as a background. 

“ Will we pass near the islands, Uncle Arthur ?” 
inquired Harold anxiously. 

“ I hope not,” was the reply. “ Rough water with 
strong winds from the south would make dangerous 
sailing for the brig. As you know, we cannot steer 
her and the waters off the islands are dangerous from 
the presence of numerous rocky islets. However, I 
do not think there is much danger unless the winds 
from the south increase sufficiently to carry us out of 
the current in which we are drifting. Can you tell 
me the name of this current, Harold? ” he continued. 

“ Yes, uncle, it is called the North Pacific Current.” 

They remained on deck as long as the air continued 
clear. As soon as the fog again settled, which oc- 
curred in about half an hour, the captain said to the 
boys : 

“ Come into the cabin and I’ll tell you something 
about the Aleutian Island Chain. Won’t you come 
with the boys, Hiram? ” he added. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Thank ye, sir,” was the reply. “ I reckon I’d 
better remain on deck. I may cum arter a while.” 

Selecting from among the many charts of the doc- 
tor’s a splendid map of the Aleutian Island Chain, the 
captain said : 

“ This chain consists of the summits of several sub- 
merged or sunken mountain chains that extend from 
the southwestern end of the Peninsula of Alaska on the 
continent of North America, to the Peninsula of Kam- 
schatka on the continent of Asia, over a distance of ap- 
proximately sixteen hundred and fifty miles. The 
island chain lies in a portion of the Pacific that is 
characterized by marked volcanic phenomena. Ac- 
cording to Dana there are some twenty-one volcanoes 
in the chain.” 

“ Are any of these volcanoes active? ” inquired Jack. 

“ Yes,” replied the captain. “ If the fog permits 
before we are out of this part of the ocean we may get 
near enough to the islands to see the smoke rising from 
the peaks of some of the active volcanoes.” 

“ O uncle,” cried Harold eagerly, “ do you think 
we’ll see a volcanic eruption ? ” 

“ I hope not,” was the reply. 

“ Why not ? The ashes or lava could not hurt us on 
the brig, could they ? ’ 

“ There’s no danger from the lava,” was the reply ; 
“ but if we were very near, the ashes might set the deck 
on fire. The principal danger would come from the 
huge waves that are sometimes formed in the ocean 
during the earthquake shocks that so commonly ac- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


company volcanic eruptions. Such waves might easily 
wreck the brig, or might even carry her on one of the 
islands and leave her considerably above the level of 
the water.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Jack, “ just as you told us the earth- 
quake waves did that were produced by the great erup- 
tion of Krakatoa in 1883.” 

“ I should like to feel an earthquake shock,” said 
Harold, and then observing that his uncle and Jack 
were laughing at him, he added : “ Of course I mean a 
little shock that wouldn’t hurt us.” 

“ Well,” said Jack, “ so would I, provided it was not 
too powerful. I don’t think the waves would be apt to 
be very high here,” he continued; “would they, cap- 
tain? I understand that such waves are only danger- 
ously high in very shallow water.” 

“ No, Jack, it is not probable that the waves would 
hurt us here,” was the reply. “ I hardly think the 
waters in which we are now are shallow enough to 
make the waves from an ordinary earthquake shock 
dangerous. But let me tell you something about these 
islands. 

“ As you can see from this map,” continued the cap- 
tain, pointing to the chart of the Aleutian Island Chain 
spread out on the table, “ the islands sweep in a some- 
what curved line between North America and Asia. 
The easternmost island, called Oonimak, is one of the 
largest in the chain. It has two volcanic peaks, the 
highest of which is known as Shishaldin. This peak, 
although only a little over eight thousand feet in height, 

V 1 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


nevertheless forms a conspicuous object, since it rises 
so abruptly from the ocean that the waves strike directly 
against its precipitous slopes. That it is an active vol- 
cano can be seen from the column of smoke which 
pours sluggishly from its crater. The other volcanic 
peak on Oonimak is called Pogromnia. 

“To the west of Oonimak there is a small island 
known as Akootan. The Strait of Oonimak, which lies 
between these two islands forms the principal route for 
all sailing vessels plying between North American ports 
and the Behring Sea which, you remember, lies north 
of the Aleutian Island Chain.” 

“ Captain,” inquired Jack, “ when a snow-covered 
volcanic mountain becomes active of course the snow 
on its slopes melts. Is this melting ever sufficiently 
rapid to cause floods? ” 

“ Yes, Jack,” was the reply, “ almost invariably the 
snow melts so rapidly that floods are formed which 
rush violently down the slopes of the mountain causing 
great damage. 

“ It appears,” continued the captain, “ that there was 
a violent eruption of Pogromnia in 1820, and that since 
this time streams of lava have been thrown out from 
the portions of the island near its western end. I will 
read you the following description of one of these erup- 
tions given by Bishop Veniaminov: 

“ ‘ On the tenth of March, 1825, after a prolonged 
subterranean noise resembling a heavy cannonade that 
was plainly heard on the islands of Oonalashka, Akoon, 
and the southern end of the Aliaska Peninsula, a low 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ridge at the northwestern end of Oonimak opened in 
five places with violent emissions of flames and great 
masses of black ashes, covering the country for miles 
around ; the ice and snow on the mountain-tops melted 
and descended in a terrific torrent five to ten miles in 
width on the eastern side of the island. The Shishal- 
din crater, which up to that time had also emitted , 
flames, continued to smoke only/ 

“ The island of Oonimak,” continued the captain, 
“ appears to be a center of volcanic activity. It was at 
one time one of the most densely populated of the Aleu- 
tian Island Chain. But it has not been inhabited since 
1847. This, however, although partially due to rav- 
ages caused by volcanoes and earthquakes, was mainly 
due to the outrageous treatment of the inhabitants by 
the early Russian traders, as well as by a terrible 
scourge of smallpox that nearly removed all the re- 
maining inhabitants.” 

“ Do I understand you, uncle,” said Harold, “ that 
no one ever visits this island ? ” 

“ I did not intend to give you that idea, Harold,” 
was the reply. “ On the contrary, the island is visited 
occasionally by the inhabitants of neighboring islands 
in order to obtain a variety of hardened lava called 
obsidian, a material so closely resembling glass that it 
is sometimes called volcanic glass. This lava breaks 
into pieces with sharp knife-like edges and is highly 
prized by the Aleuts for knives. It is also used for tip- 
ping the 'ends of their spears and arrows. They also 
visit the island of Oonimak for the sulphur and brim- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


stone that collect in crevices on the slopes of the vol- 
canoes.^ 

“ What do they do with brimstone ? ” inquired 
Harold. 

“ They use it in starting their fires.” 

“ Do you mean that they make matches with the 
brimstone ? ” asked Harold. 

“ Not exactly,” was the reply, “ they use it in the 
following manner. A layer of dried moss or dried 
eiderdown is spread over the surface of some hard 
flinty rock over which they sprinkle powdered sulphur. 
They then get a piece of stone they call a fire-stone, 
consisting of a mineral known as quartzite, a hard 
quartz rock, and strike it with powerful blows against 
the rock. The sparks of fire thus produced ignite the 
brimstone and the moss or feathers on which it rests 
and start the fire.” 

“ This is worth remembering, Jack,” exclaimed 
Harold. “ Should the brig be wrecked and we are cast 
on an island containing sulphur we might start a fire in 
this manner.” 

“ We might,” said Jack, “ if we knew where to find 
quartzite, and knew it when we saw it.” 

* “ Oh, well,” replied Harold, “ we must learn. I 

know sulphur or brimstone when I see it, and that’s 
something to begin with.” 

“ The next largest island to the west of Oonimak,” 
continued the captain, “ is Oonalashka. This island 
has a fairly dense population. The principal village or 
town has the same name as the island. At this village 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the principal trading of the island is carried on. At 
one time this trade consisted in the valuable sea-otter 
skins. I will not stop now to describe to you the gen- 
eral appearance of the sea-otter as you may possibly 
see one of these animals before we leave this district. 
It is also on Oonalashka that deposits of red and yel- 
low ocher — varieties of iron ore — are found which are 
highly prized as paints or pigments for the ornamenta- 
tion of glass or stonework. The active volcano of 
Makooshin is situated on this island. 

“ Without stopping to describe,” continued the cap- 
tain, “ the many other interesting islands which lie west 
of Oonalashka, we come at last to the westernmost 
island of the chain, the island of Attoo. This island, 
lying as it does nearest the mainland of Asia, was 
the first island of the chain visited by the Russians, it 
being discovered by Michael Novodiskov. At the 
time of his visit the island was populated by numerous 
Aleuts who possessed a large quantity of sea-otter 
skins. Now, owing to the practical extermination of 
the otters, or at least to the animals being driven from 
the coasts, the inhabitants finding their occupation of 
hunting the sea-otter gone, have greatly decreased in 
numbers, obtaining a bare living from the fishing of 
cod, halibut, algae mackerel, and salmon. Fortunately 
for these people the Japan Current brings considerable 
drift timber on their coasts.” 


175 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XIII 

In the Wrack or Floating Kelp-masses of the 
North Pacific 

It will be remembered that Hiram was an inveterate 
smoker. Long ago both he and the captain had used 
up all the tobacco they had brought with them from the 
ship. Hiram greatly felt the want of tobacco with 
which to fill his pipe. Although the captain also 
missed it, he did not miss it so greatly as Hiram. 

The boys who had found out the date of Hiram's 
birthday were discussing what kind of present would 
give him the greatest pleasure. 

“ I'll tell you, Harold,” exclaimed Jack, “ let’s make 
him a present of a lot of smoking tobacco. I think that 
would please him as much as anything else.” 

“ There’s no doubt about tobacco pleasing him,” 
said Harold laughing, “ but where can we get any ? 
I know Hiram has searched all over the brig, especially 
in the forecastle, without being able to find even the 
smallest quantity.” 

“ Let me whisper something in your ear,” said 
Jack. “ Yesterday, while unpacking a large box 
marked with Doctor Parsons’ name and filled princi- 
pally with books, I found two packages of tobacco 
weighing about twenty pounds each. I took them to 
the captain, who told me that it was a splendid brand of 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


smoking tobacco ; I asked him whether you and I could 
have some of it for a present on Hiram’s birthday 
to-morrow.” 

“ I’ll divide this into two equal parts,” said the 
captain. “ You and Harold can give one of these to 
Hiram and I will keep the other.” 

“ That will be splendid,” said Harold. 

Jack had secretly been teaching Satan a new phrase 
with which to greet Hiram on his birthday, so next 
morning at breakfast Satan, who had been schooled 
by Jack to give him birthday greetings, and was now 
able to distinctly say : “ Many happy returns, Hiram ; 
have a smoke ? ” succeeded in speaking these words 
very plainly, but probably regarding this as too short 
a sentence unfortunately spoiled the effect by adding 
another phrase, “ You’re a devil! You’re a devil!” 
much to the amusement of all at the table. 

“ I’d like it well enough, Satan,” replied Hiram 
good-naturedly, “ but I kain’t smoke without the tor- 
baccy.” 

“ Hiram,” said Harold, as soon as the laughter had 
ceased, and each of the party had wished him many 
happy returns of the day, “ suppose you had your 
wish, and that I would agree to give you a pound of 
anything you might ask for, what would you most 
wish to receive? ” 

“ I allow, Mr. Harold,” was the reply, “ there 
wouldn’t be much hesertation on my part, but there 
ain’t no use in my telling ye what I’d like, fer I know 
it can’t be got on this here wessel.” 
m 177 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ But/’ persisted Harold, “ what would you ask 
for? ” 

“ Wall,” said Hiram, “ I won’t deceive ye. I would 
ask for a pound of smoking tobaccy. I’d ruther hev 
thet than a pound of gold; that is, supposing I was 
still on this brig, fer I couldn’t do anything here with 
the gold but could with the tobaccy.” 

“ Well, then,” said Harold, suddenly producing a 
pound of tobacco that was carefully wrapped in several 
papers, “ accept this with my compliments.” 

“ And,” said Jack, suddenly producing a similar 
package, “ take this with mine, Hiram.” 

It was a study to watch Hiram’s face as he instantly 
brought the packages under his nose. 

“ Wall, I’ll be swan. It sartinly smells like tobaccy, 
but it kain’t be tobaccy. At least, I’m afeered it ain’t.” 

“ Open the package, Hiram,” said the captain 
smiling. 

Hiram did so and, finding it filled with a pound of 
the real stuff, at once drew his beloved pipe from his 
pocket, filled it, and lighting it commenced smoking 
with a smile breaking out all over his face. 

“ This be a grand present, boys. You couldn’t hev 
brung me anything better’n this. Cap’in,” he con- 
tinued, “ won’t you jine me? This is the best stuff I 
ever smoked.” 

“ Thank you, Hiram,” replied the captain taking 
a pipe out of his pocket and filling and lighting it; 
“ I greatly wanted to do this yesterday when Jack 
found the tobacco in a box in the hold marked with 
i 7 8 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the doctor’s name and filled mainly with books. The 
boys wanted to surprise you, so I resisted the desire 
to fill my pipe, for I was sure you would smell it at 
once.” 

Hiram watched the captain’s face as he puffed away 
’at his pipe. 

“ Feels kinder good, don’t it, cap’in? ” 

“ Yes, Hiram,” said the captain, “ it does; you seem 
to like it too.” 

“ Wall, cap’in,” said Hiram laughing, “ I allow I 
be gittin’ lots o’ satisfaction out’n sucking this here 
pipe.” 

Fearing the example of two men being so much 
pleased with smoking might produce in them a de- 
sire to smoke, Hiram turned to the boys and said : 

“ My boys, I sartinly hope ye’ll never larn to smoke. 
It’s a bad habit, especially fer boys. Ain’t thet so, 
cap’in ? ” 

“ It is, indeed, boys,” was the reply. “ I frankly 
acknowledge that I would be better off if I had never 
learned to smoke. I think I understand just how you 
feel about smoking, Hiram. You want it bad and 
won’t be happy until you get it. Isn’t that so ? ” 

“ Wall,” replied Hiram, “ thet’s treu for sartin.” 

“ I’m the same way,” said the captain ; “ but do you 
know, Hiram, I’m not sure I actually enjoy a smoke. 
I sometimes think that what I really enjoy is getting 
rid of the awful feeling of wanting a smoke, that I can 
only get rid of by smoking.” 

“ Wall, cap’in,” replied Hiram, “ there may be su’th- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in g in thet, and I agree with ye that smokin’ is tarna- 
tion bad. But ef ye feel ye ought to stop, I’m willin’, 
out of good feelin’ fer ye, to smoke up the hull lot 
of yer tobaccy as well as mine.” 

“ I guess I’ll not trouble you to do that, Hiram,” said 
the captain. 

Next day, after dinner, when Jack went into the- 
cabin to get a book to read he found the captain look- 
ing over some of the doctor’s fishing-tackle, and get- 
ting a number of lines ready. 

“ Are you thinking of going fishing, captain ? ” 
inquired Jack. 

“ Yes, Jack, we are now in a part of the ocean in 
which there are many excellent food-fish. If the speed 
of the brig becomes sufficiently decreased we will try 
our hands at fishing. We have been living so long on 
canned food that fresh fish would be not only pleasant 
but very wholesome.” 

“ What kind of fish do you think may be caught 
in these waters ? ” 

“ In the deeper waters, cod and halibut. In the 
shallow waters, herring, mackerel, and salmon. This, 
however, depends largely on the season of the year.” 

When Jack told Harold what his uncle was doing he 
exclaimed : 

“ It’ll be a jolly thing to fish off the brig, I’ll go and 
help uncle fix the lines.” 

The waters through which they were now moving 
were very different from those of the Kuro Sivo. Al- 
though the general color was blue yet it was not of 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


so deep a hue. Moreover, they frequently passed 
through a floating mass of seaweed known as wrack 
or kelp. When Harold first saw it he at once thought 
of the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic that his 
uncle had told him about, so he said to Hiram : 

“ Have you ever seen the Sargasso Sea ? ” 

“ Which one, Mr. Harold? ” inquired Hiram. 

“ Any of them.” 

“ Yes, my lad, I’ve seen them a-many times. Why 
do ye ask ? ” 

“ I was wondering if the kind of weed through 
which we are now floating is the same as that which 
forms the sea in the North Atlantic? ” he inquired. 

“ I aren’t sartin,” Hiram replied, “ but I think t’aint; 
better ax yer uncle. He knows much more about sech 
things than me. This here weed through which we 
are now passing is called wrack. It is much coarser 
than most of the weed I hev seen in the Sargasso Sea.” 

“ There’s a great quantity of it around us to-day,” 
said Jack who was standing near and heard the con- 
versation. 

“ Yes, Mr. Jack, and there’ll likely be a greater sight 
afore long. Many’s the times I’ve sailed in these seas. 
•As fer as I kin remember you’ll find more weed to the 
east of us. Howsumever, that’ll depend on the pint 
from which the wind is a-blowin’. Ef we get into a 
big mass of it there may be some things worth seein’.” 

“ Such as what? ” inquired Harold eagerly. 

“ Wall, it might be that we’ll see a curious critter 
called the sea-otter found in these waters. This animal 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


hez a fur that every one allows is werry purty. Indeed, 
I’m told that some of the best of these furs will fetch 
several hundred dollars.” 

“ I’d like to get a few of them,” said Harold. 

“ Wall, my lad, ye may, and then again ye mayn’t. 
A-many years ago there were plenty of these critters 
in these waters, but they’ve killed the animals off so 
tarnation fast thet nigh all o’ them hev disappeared 
except fur out from the shore.” 

The boys were so interested in the differences be- 
tween the wrack or the seaweed through which they 
were floating, and that which forms the mass of the 
Sargasso Sea, that they took the first opportunity of 
questioning the captain about it. 

“ Captain,” said Jack when he next saw him, “ won’t 
you tell me the exact meaning of the word; I don’t 
quite understand ? ” 

“ What’s the word, Jack? ” was the answer; “ per- 
haps I can tell you its meaning.” 

“ It’s the word 4 wrack,’ ” he replied. 

“ By wrack is meant any coarse seaweed that is 
found floating on the waters or has been thrown up 
on shore by the waves,” was the reply. “ It is a general 
word that includes a number of different species of 
seaweed.” 

“ And what is meant by ‘ kelp ’ ? ” inquired Jack. 

“ Kelp,” said the captain, “ is the same thing as 
wrack. Wrack, however, is generally called kelp when 
it has been gathered into piles on the coast, spread out 
in the sun so as to dry, and then burned. In this way 
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there is produced a mass known as kelp, a substance 
formerly employed in the manufacture of glass be- 
cause of the large quantities of soda it contains. At 
one time the collection of kelp constituted an industry 
that gave employment to great numbers of people 
living on the eastern coasts of Europe. The soda 
required for the manufacture of glass and other pur- 
poses is now seldom obtained from seaweed, since it 
can be produced at a much cheaper rate from other 
products. Wrack or kelp, however, is still employed for 
spreading over the fields as manure, or as a cheap fuel 
by the poorer classes. I have read that in the Orkney 
Islands which, as you probably remember, are situated 
in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Scotland, the kelp in- 
dustry employs at least twenty thousand men. Now, 
however, although the wrack is still collected, this work 
does not begin to give employment to so many.” 

“ Is the wrack or seaweed through which we are 
now passing the same as that which is found in the 
Sargasso Sea that you were telling us about ? ” in- 
quired Jack. 

“No, Jack,” was the reply; “although there are 
many kinds of weeds that collect in the Sargasso Sea, 
yet perhaps most of them grow directly on the sur- 
face of the water, while the weeds forming the wrack 
or kelp consist almost entirely of the kind that grow on 
the bed of the ocean. It is only when the waves of 
storms tear up these weeds by the roots that they rise 
to the surface and are brought together by the wind 
in the large floating masses we can see around us,” 

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“ Then I imagine,” said Jack, “ these plants or weeds 
are lighter than water.” 

“ The entire mass is,” was the reply ; “ but if you 
examine some of these weeds you will see what it is 
that makes them rise to the top of the water when their 
roots are torn from the bottom. Suppose we go on 
deck and get some of this weed and I’ll show you and 
Harold what I mean.” 

“ That’s jolly,” said Harold. “ Come, Jack, let’s 
go and see what the captain means.” 

There was no difficulty in obtaining a plentiful 
supply of the floating weeds. Spreading this material 
out on the deck the captain said : 

“ Although there are many kinds of weeds here, yet 
as you can see they consist mainly of three varieties.” 
Then, selecting specimens of each of these kinds and 
placing them in three separate heaps, he threw the 
remainder overboard and then turning to the boys 
said: “Now I’ll tell you something of each of these 
kinds.” 

“ What do you call this kind, uncle ? ” asked Harold 
picking up a specimen from one of the piles. 

“ That kind is called knob wrack from the knobs or 
hollow spaces filled with air you can see on the dif- 
ferent parts of the stems.” 

“ And what do you call this kind, sir? ” asked Jack 
taking a specimen from another pile. 

“ That is known as the bladder wrack. Here the hol- 
low spaces come in pairs of air-vessels not unlike large 
nuts.” 


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“ This is a funny variety,” said Harold taking up a 
specimen from the remaining pile. “ It has scalloped 
edges.” 

“ That kind is called the serrated wrack or weed. 
It takes this name from the jagged, saw-like cuts on 
its edges.” 

“ Look here, captain,” said Jack closely examining 
portions of the serrated wrack covered in places by a 
delicate and beautiful lace-work of a whitish substance ; 
“ is this a part of the weed itself or is it some other kind 
of material ? ” 

“ What you refer to, Jack, is entirely different from 
the weed itself. In fact, it consists of parasitic animals 
known as zoophytes.” 

“ You don’t mean to say that thing is an animal, 
do you, uncle? ” exclaimed Harold in a surprised tone. 
“ Why, it looks more like a plant than an animal.” 

“ That’s just what a zoophyte is, Harold. Indeed, 
the name zoophyte means an animal-plant, or a plant- 
like animal. A zoophyte only resembles a plant in ap- 
pearance. In other respects it differs from it. There are 
a great variety of zoophytes in the ocean, and sometime 
we may find time to study some of them. I’m sure both 
of you will enjoy doing this. 

“ You must not suppose, boys,” continued the cap- 
tain, “ that the three kinds of weeds I’ve shown you 
are the only kinds that collect in wrack or kelp. On 
the contrary, there are many others.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ are fish or 
other animals ever found in the floating kelp or wrack ? 

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I don’t mean things like the zoophytes that one can 
hardly tell from plants, but I mean everyday animals 
like fish, crabs, oysters, or starfish ? ” 

“ Yes,” said the captain, “ there is great abundance 
of animal life in the masses of wrack or floating kelp. 
One of the commonest of these is a variety of spider- 
like crab, known as the kelp-crab. It is difficult to see 
this animal because its color is almost exactly that of 
the kelp on which it is found. Then there is a variety 
of salmon called the kelp-salmon — a rather small fish, 
but still a fish that makes an excellent food.” 

“ A-many a times hev I eaten that ’ere fish,” ex- 
claimed Hiram, “ and mighty good eatin’ it be. I cal- 
culate we kin git some o’ them afore long.” 

“ Are there any other kind of fish in these waters, 
Hiram?” inquired Jack. 

“ Yes, Mr. Jack, when you git furder to the east off 
the shallow water on the banks big fish ken be cotched 
at times.” 

“ What kind of fish, Hiram? ” asked Harold. 

“ Salmon ; and in the deeper water cod or halibut. 
But by rights to catch these fish we should wait until 
the brig gits on the edge of the current whar it’ll not 
move so fast thru the water.” 

“ There is one kind of fish, Hiram,” said the captain, 
“ that I have been rigging up some lines for, that we 
may be able to catch while the brig is moving, by using 
a squid, and that is herring.” 

“ I know what you mean, uncle,” exclaimed Harold, 
“ a spoon-shaped piece of zinc or silver with a hook, 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


attached to the end of a fishing-line and thrown over 
the stern of the boat. As the squid is dragged through 
the water after the boat it looks like a little fish, and is 
swallowed by the larger fish that are caught in this 
way.” 

“ But, Jack,” said the captain, “ we must not forget 
why it was we examined the seaweed as closely as we 
have done. You were asking whether, since the sea- 
weed rose so rapidly to the surface after its roots were 
torn off the sea-bottom by the waves, it did not prove 
the weed was much lighter than the water, and I told 
you it was only generally so. Of course you can tell 
me now what it is that makes the weed rise to the sur- 
face when freed from the bottom.” 

“ The air-cells or bladder-like appendages,” said 
Jack. 

“ That’s right,” was the reply. 


i 


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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XIV 

The Home of the Sea-otter 

The wrack covered the surface of the water so 
completely that the occasional clear spaces were in- 
sufficient to permit the use of squid fishing until three 
days afterward. Then, however, they had a few hours 
for several days in succession, when an opportunity 
was afforded for squidding. During this time they 
succeeded in taking half a dozen fairly large-sized 
mackerel, together with one large fish somewhat re- 
sembling the bluefish of the Atlantic coast. They 
proved most delicious eating, either when fried or 
baked, in each of which styles Hiram placed them on 
the table. 

“ They taste all right, Harold, don’t they ? ” in- 
quired Jack. 

“ You bet they do,” replied Harold. 

“ Harold,” asked the captain, “ do you know why 
the fish tastes so nice? ” 

“ Why, certainly, uncle,” was the reply ; “ they taste 
nice because they are nice. Is there any other reason ? ” 

“ Yes, Harold, they taste so nice because you haven’t 
had any fish for a long while. We have been living so 
long on canned goods and salted or canned meats that 
a piece of fresh fish tastes especially good.” 

“ Oh, I understand,” said Harold laughing; “like 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the tobacco you and Hiram were smoking. It tasted 
good because it was good, and because you hadn’t had 
any for so long a time.” 

“ Yes,” said the captain, looking at Hiram and 
smiling ; “ but it tasted good principally because we 
hadn’t any tobacco for so long a time.” 

They had now reached a part of the ocean where 
the masses of floating wrack were almost continuous, 
so that there were but little chances for fishing. Still 
the boys enjoyed the sport so much that they spent 
much of their spare time on deck hoping that a chance 
for fishing would present itself. One day when they 
had waited several hours in vain for a clear space, 
Jack turned to Harold and said : 

“ Let’s get the glasses and examine the ocean ahead 
of the bow to see if we can see any clear spaces.” 

They did this and stood watching the sea. While 
thus employed Jack, who had been examining the weed 
on the left-hand side of the brig, or the side nearest 
the islands, suddenly turning to Harold, exclaimed : 

“ Look at that curious animal in the mass of wrack 
on your left,” he cried, pointing to a place where the 
weed had collected in so dense a mass that it looked 
as though one might almost walk on it. 

“ Where do you mean?” asked Harold, eagerly 
looking in the right direction, but not at the exact spot 
Jack referred to. 

“ No, no,” replied Jack, seeing the direction in 
which Harold had his glasses pointed ; ‘ “ more to your 
right, near the middle of that big mass of wrack.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Oh, I see now what you mean,” exclaimed Harold. 
“ I wonder what it is ? ” 

“ I’m sure I don’t know. I wonder if it can be a 
sea-otter that Hiram was telling us about the other 
day.” 

Both Hiram and the captain happened to be on deck. 

“ I’ll run and ask Hiram,” said Harold, and in a 
few moments the two men were examining the animal. 

“ That’s a sea-otter for sartin, my lads,” exclaimed 
Hiram. 

They were too far off from the animal to risk a shot. 
Had the water been still they could readily have killed 
it, but that day the water was rough so that the animal 
was being tossed to and fro by the waves as they rocked 
the mass of seaweed on which it was resting. While 
they were watching and trying to get a better view of 
it, the animal diving into the water disappeared. 

“ Watch it now, my lads,” said Hiram; “ that ’ere 
critter ain’t much fer livin’ under water. Ye’ll soon 
see it agin on the top.” 

Hiram’s prediction was soon realized. In a few 
moments the animal appeared on a part of the floating 
weed nearer to the brig. It again disappeared and this 
time emerged in a few moments in a clearer spot of 
water still nearer the brig. It apparently had not 
seen them; for, exhibiting no fear, it stretched itself 
out on its back at nearly full length with its hind legs 
close together and its forefeet stretched upward in the 
air. It seemed to greatly enjoy the rough way in 
which the waves tossed it to and fro. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Get your rifles, boys,” said the captain, “ and see 
if you can hit it.” 

By the time the boys had their rifles the floating sea- 
otter was near enough to the brig to afford a fairly 
good shot. 

! “ Let’s fire together,” said Jack. 

They did so and were successful in hitting the 
animal, for a faint crimson streak dyed the water near 
the place at which it had momentarily dived imme- 
diately on being struck. In a little while it appeared 
floating on the water apparently quite dead. 

“ O Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold, “ won’t you 
launch the boat and get the otter? ” 

“ I certainly will, Harold. The sea-otter is a rare 
animal. Its skin would make a splendid present for 
your mother when you next see her.” 

“ When I next see her,” said the boy sorrowfully. 
“ Do you think that will ever happen, uncle ? ” 

“ Why, of course I do,” was the reply. “ I can’t say 
when, but I trust it’ll not be long. Be brave, my lad, 
and keep a stiff upper lip. We’ll do all we can to get 
you home. Almost any time something may happen 
to put us on a passing vessel. So be brave and let’s 
make the most out of the very comfortable position 
in which we now find ourselves.” 

“Very well, uncle,” replied Harold; “then sup- 
pose we lower the boat and get the sea-otter.” 

This was done, and the otter was secured and 
brought on the deck. It measured about four feet 
from the tip of its nose to the end of its short, stumpy 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tail. It’s body had the general shape of a beaver. 
Its head was moderately large, round, and shaped 
something like a cat’s. Its ears were short; its eyes 
black and almost circular in shape. It also resembled 
a cat in that it was furnished with long white, loose- 
hanging mustaches. Though like the beaver in the 
shape of its tail, yet the tail was not so well developed. 
Its legs, however, were smaller and better adapted for 
life in the sea. This was especially the case with its 
hind limbs that more closely resembled fins than feet. 

“ What a magnificent fur,” exclaimed the captain, 
examining the otter. 

It was indeed magnificent. Underneath, the hair 
was of a rich deep chestnut brown and was almost 
ebony-like in depth of color on the back. It is no 
wonder that this fur is employed for only trimming 
sealskin sacks, for its high price renders it practically 
impossible, except in the case of exceedingly wealthy 
people, to employ the fur for an entire coat or cloak. 

“ On what does the sea-otter feed, captain ? ” in- 
quired Jack. 

“ I understand,” was the reply, “ that the animal 
lives on crabs and shellfish, and in the absence of this 
food, on some of the marine plants that accumulate in 
the wrack. This animal, however, lives almost ex- 
clusively in the stormy seas of the North Pacific, and 
therefore has not been very carefully studied by nat- 
uralists, so that we have to rely on the accounts of 
the hunters who are almost exclusively Aleuts, or the 
inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands. You have been 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in these parts, Hiram,” he continued; “ have you ever 
heard the hunters speak of the food of the sea-otter ? ” 

“ I’ve heerd ’em talkin’ about it many a time,” was 
the reply. “ They agree that the critter eats crabs 
and shellfish. Some say she feeds on fish, though there 
be others wot deny this. Thar is a kind of seaweed, 
a kind of kelp with big leaves, thet’s called the sea- 
otter’s cabbage, ’cause she’s so often found resting on 
it. But whether she does this because the leaves are 
so big, or because she eats part of them, I’ve never 
heerd. Hev ye ever heerd, cap’in ? ” he inquired of his 
companion. 

“ I never have, Hiram,” was the reply. “ I have, 
however, read some interesting facts concerning the 
young of the sea-otter. The animals live in pairs, so 
that we may see another otter in the neighborhood. 
There is but one otter born at a time. They appear to 
be born, however, in all months of the year, since 
young animals are found during every month. The 
cradle of the young sea-otter is the floating kelp 
masses. Here the young animal is literally rocked 
in the cradle of the deep, and from its earliest life 
is accustomed to the rough, tempestuous, and chilly 
waters of the region. The mother is very affection- 
ate, manifesting great fondness for its offspring, and 
will fight fiercely when its safety is threatened, its 
small black snaky eyes assuming a ferocious appear- 
ance.” 

“ Captain,” inquired Jack, “ are these animals found 
in many parts of the world ? ” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ No, Jack,” was the reply ; “ I believe they are 
limited to the waters of the North Pacific, generally 
between fifty and sixty degrees north latitude.” 

“ Hiram,” remarked Harold, “ we must try to pre- 
serve this fur. Do you know how to do this ? ” 

“ Yes, Mr. Harold, I’ll fix it up fer ye, and there is 
also something else I’ll attend to, fer the flesh of the 
critter is good eatin’, so I’ll prepare a stew for dinner.” 

“ Come into the cabin, boys,” said the captain, “ and 
I will tell you something about the history of the 
sea-otter. You remember I told you the other day 
that the westernmost island of the Aleutian Chain, 
which is the westernmost land of the North American 
continent, is named Attoo. It appears when the Rus- 
sians discovered the Aleutian Island Chain that Attoo 
was first visited. To the great surprise and delight of 
the Russians they found this exceedingly rare and high- 
ly prized fur was very common; so common, indeed, 
that it was not unusual to find the natives wearing 
huge cloaks made entirely of sea-otter skins. More- 
over, the inhabitants appeared to possess a great num- 
ber of these furs, which curiously enough they did not 
seem to regard as any more valuable than the furs 
of the sea-lions or the seal, and willingly bartered them 
for articles of comparatively little value. 

The eagerness manifested by their visitors natu- 
rally caused the inhabitants to commence an almost 
continuous warfare on the sea-otter, so that the number 
of animals slain greatly exceeded anything that was 
heretofore known. The pursuit of the sea-otter was 
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carried to the adjoining islands, with the result that 
always attends an indiscriminate slaughter of any 
animal ; i. e. y it decreased in numbers and at last be- 
came almost exterminated, so that not only the 
island of Attoo, but also the neighboring islands — 
the inhabitants of which had depended largely on the 
pursuit of the sea-otter as their principal industry — like 
the otters themselves, soon began to decrease in num- 
bers and found no little difficulty in continuing their 
existence by fishing, as well as by the pursuit of the 
sea-lion and the seal. 

“ The name given by the natives to the sea-otter 
is the ‘ kahlan.’ It appears that their method for 
capturing the animal consisted in spreading nets with 
coarse meshes over the kelp-bed or otter-grass. The 
nets were about eighteen feet in length, and from six 
to ten feet in breadth. As soon as spread over the 
otter-grass the natives go to the nearest bluffs and 
watch them. When the otters would go out to play 
or rest they would become entangled in the meshes 
and apparently overcome by fear they would make little 
or no effort to escape, so that they could readily be 
captured. It seems, however, that the people on the 
other islands have never employed this method for 
hunting the sea-otter.” 

Some three hours after they had shot the sea-otter, 
Jack, who had again gone on deck to examine the 
wrack with his glasses, so as to take any advantage 
that might present itself for squid fishing, saw another 
sea-otter floating on its back, engaged in something 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


that greatly surprised him. Calling the attention of 
the captain to what he was watching, he exclaimed : 

“ Captain, if any one had told me this I would not 
have believed him. Look at that sea-otter ; why it’s as 
playful as a kitten.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” exclaimed the captain, who 
had not yet sighted it. “ Oh, I see,” he added as he 
caught sight of the animal. “ It is indeed a strange 
thing. Watch it while I go and call Harold.” 

The sea-otter referred to by Jack was lying on its 
back in the water amusing itself by tossing a piece of 
seaweed in the air from paw to paw. 

“ Jack,” said Harold who had come at the captain’s 
call and had been watching it, “ it wouldn’t make a 
bad ball-player would it? ” 

“ Well,” was the reply, “ it never seems to miss, but 
then the ball is never thrown very far.” 

“ The animal is very playful,” said the captain, 
watching the animal. “ It reminds one of a kitten in 
this respect.” 

“ I have heard of otters that are caught in different 
parts of Europe in the rivers. These are different 
animals from the sea-otters, are they not, captain ? ” 
said Jack. 

“ Yes, Jack, the animal you refer to is known as the 
river-otter. Unlike the sea-otter it lives principally 
on fish and sometimes is very destructive to salmon. 
It is a smaller animal than the sea-otter, seldom ex- 
ceeding two feet in length from the end of its nose 
to the tip of its tail. 


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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ The river-otter,” he continued, “ was at one time 
commoner in Europe than now. Its fur is by no means 
so handsome or beautiful as that of the sea-otter. 
The animals make their nests near the water’s edge, 
lining them with grass and leaves. They bring forth 
from four to five young at a time. A species of river- 
otter found in Canada greatly excels the European 
species in the beauty of its glossy fur. This animal, 
which is found as far north as 67° latitude, is generally 
captured by sinking a steel trap near the mouth of its 
burrow. By the way, boys,” he added, “ like the sea- 
otter, this animal is very playful. According to hunt- 
ers it is not unusual to see the animal climb to the 
top of a hill covered with snow in winter, or a moist, 
sloping bank in summer, when, lying on its belly, 
with its forefeet bent backward, it gives itself a push 
with its hind legs and swiftly slides down hill.” 

“ They must be very intelligent animals,” said Jack. 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ I understand that there is 
a species of the otter found in India that has been 
trained by the fishermen and taught to catch fish for 
them. Indeed, I know of certain tame otters that have 
been trained in Great Britain for the same purpose.” 

Harold watched the process of preparing the sea- 
otter’s fur with no little anxiety, for when he learned 
that a single fur, when fairly good, was commonly sold 
for from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars, 
and that some brought as high as four hundred dollars 
in China, which is the principal market of the Russians 
for this fur, he was especially desirous of being able 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


to carry this fur to his mother. Nor was this desire les- 
sened when he learned from the captain that very fine 
specimens sometimes brought in the markets of New 
York, or other large cities of civilized countries, a price 
as great as one thousand dollars. 


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CHAPTER XV 

With Rompey and Satan 

It is a mistaken idea that practically all the actions of 
the lower animals are based on what is called instinct, 
and are entirely devoid of reasoning powers. The 
boys, who naturally spent much of their spare time with 
Rompey and Satan soon saw, like all who have taken 
the trouble to become actually acquainted with animals 
from observing them, and whose knowledge is not 
limited to what they read, that both of their animal 
friends possessed, in a fairly high degree, not only 
the power of observing and remembering what they 
had seen, but also of drawing conclusions therefrom; 
that is, of actually reasoning. For example, one 
morning Rompey came running in an excited manner 
to Hiram who was alone on watch on the deck, and 
looking earnestly in his face began whining as if try- 
ing to talk with him. 

“ What is it, Rompey,” he exclaimed. “ Want me 
to scratch your head.” 

Evidently this was not what Rompey wanted. In- 
stead of wagging his tail in thanks for the petting, he 
withdrew a little from Hiram and continued whining, 
and then running a short distance toward a hatchway 
leading to the middle hold, stopped, continued bark- 
ing, evidently wishing that Hiram should follow him. 
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“ Oh, ye want me to play with ye,” said Hiram. 
“ I hev no time now; go ask Mr. Harold or Mr. Jack 
to play with you.” 

Finding that Hiram could not be persuaded to fol- 
low him, the intelligent dog ran toward the cabin where 
the boys had just finished dressing and were about 
ready to come on deck. He at once repeated the ear- 
nest looks and the whining with which he had treated 
Hiram. He found, however, that the boys were 
quicker to understand his actions, being better ac- 
quainted with him. 

Turning to Harold Jack exclaimed : 

“ Something has happened Rompey wants to tell 
us about. What’s the matter, Rompey ? ” he con- 
tinued ; “ do you want us to go with you and see 
something ? ” 

While of course we do not mean to assert that 
Rompey understood all the words directed at him, yet 
we do believe that at least he had ideas associated with 
some of the words that his request for them to ac- 
company him was understood; for he at once an- 
swered by a number of joyful barks accompanied by 
his running toward the hatchway leading to the middle 
hold where the water-tanks were kept. 

“ Something is wrong in the middle hold, Harold,” 
said Jack. “Let’s follow him.” 

Following the dog he led them to one of the largest 
of the water-tanks from the faucet of which the water 
was rapidly escaping. 

“ Well, I declare,” said Jack; “ look at that, Harold. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Rompey has seen the water running and remembers 
that it is never permitted to run without some one 
being there. He has, therefore, come to tell us, know- 
ing that something was wrong.” 

Harold was greatly pleased with the intelligence 
displayed by his dog, and turning to the animal, said : 

“ Good dog, Rompey,” and began to scratch him and 
pat his head. While Jack also let the animal see that 
he was pleased with what he had done. Nor was 
Rompey at all surprised at being thus praised. Of 
course, he was greatly pleased at having succeeded in 
bringing them to the tank, and acted as though he 
thought the praise he was getting was only his due. 
He therefore contented himself with frisking around 
and barking joyously. 

The noise made around the water-tank attracted 
both the captain and Hiram to the place. When they 
heard what had happened, Hiram exclaimed : 

“ Wall, I’m jiggered. That’s what the beastie wuz 
try in’ to tell me. Good dog, Rompey,” he added, 
stooping and petting him. 

“ Captain,” cried Jack, “ I have heard people say 
that dogs and other animals cannot reason; that the 
things they do result from what is called instinct. 
Now, if what Rompey has just done is not the result 
of reasoning I’d like to know what you call it. It 
seems to me that some animals possess as much rea- 
soning powers as many human beings.” 

“ I agree with you, Jack,” was the reply. “ There 
was a time, and that not very long ago, when it was 
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generally believed that practically all the actions of 
animals are due to a blind impulse, the animal acting 
without any deliberation or knowledge of what it is 
doing. That is to say, that animals, as Sir William 
Hamilton believed, performed ‘ blindly and ignorantly 
a work of intelligence and knowledge.’ Now, while 
many of the actions of the lower animals are un- 
doubtedly of this character such, for example, as the 
apparent ingenuity displayed in the building of nests 
by birds, or in the shaping of the hexagonal cells of 
the hives of the honey-bee, or the construction of its 
web by the spider, as well as in other similar actions, 
yet there are other cases, such as what Rompey has 
done this morning, that cannot be explained unless it be 
assumed that the animal performed the act deliberately 
and for the purpose of bringing about certain results, 
which it knew from experience would occur when the 
thing was done. 

“ On the other hand,” he continued, “ there arc 
philosophers such as Darwin who not only assert that 
animals possess reasoning powers, but even go so far 
as to assert that there is no real difference between in- 
stinct and reason, instinct being, they claim, in reality 
an intellectual act.” 

“ And is it still generally believed,” inquired Jack, 
“ that nearly all the habits of animals are due to 
instinct? ” 

“ No, Jack,” replied the captain. “ The number of 
people who believe in the presence of reasoning powers 
in animals is constantly increasing.” 

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“ I’m glad to hear that,” said Jack. “ It seems to 
be the more sensible belief.” 

“ And so say I,” exclaimed Harold. “ V m sure 
Rompey understands much of what I say to him, and 
I’m also sure that I know much of what he tries to 
say to me, not only by the wagging of his tail and his 
general appearance, but also by the sounds he makes.” 

Rompey appeared undoubtedly to possess memory, 
and this led to the curious incident we are about to 
describe. Like many other animals he appeared to 
possess a liking for certain musical tunes. Generally 
he appeared indifferent when most tunes were sung 
in his hearing. There was one tune, however, that ap- 
pared associated with something in his mind that had 
occurred in his former life which always appeared 
to awaken old and pleasing remembrances. While 
schoolboys at Eton, Harold and Jack belonged to one 
of the glee clubs. While on the brig they were in the 
habit of singing some of these songs. Both had good 
voices and correct ears and, having been well trained, 
their voices harmonized so that the singing was very 
agreeable. 

Of the two animals Satan seemed to possess a more 
cultivated ear than Rompey, for the bird was appar- 
ently always glad to hear them singing. Rompey, on 
the contrary, was indifferent. While he remained with 
them while the singing was going on, he appeared to 
be pleased mainly because he was in their company. 
As soon, however, as they began singing the well- 
known air, “ Charley, Come Back to Me,” Rompey 
203 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


would become excited apparently by very pleasing 
memories, for he at once began to show signs of pleas- 
ure, pricking up his ears and looking around as if 
expecting some one to come. He would do this even 
if the air was only hummed gently, but when the boys 
began to sing he showed greater excitement, especially 
when he heard the phrase, “ O Charley, come back to 
me.” There was evidently something belonging to 
this air and its words that meant much to Rompey. 
Indeed, this was so evident that the boys soon became 
in the habit of calling this song Rompey’s song. 

“ Harold,” Jack remarked one afternoon, “ I think 
I’ve made a great discovery concerning Rompey’s life 
before we took him from the drifting boat.” 

“ Oh, come, Jack,” said Harold good-naturedly, 
“ what are you giving me ! Do you want me to be- 
lieve that you have discovered a way of reading the 
past history of Rompey ? ” 

“ That’s about what I mean.” 

“ Explain yourself.” 

“ All right, I believe I can tell you the name of Rom- 
pey’s young master.” 

“ Oh, you can, can you,” cried Harold. “ I don’t 
see how you can call that a great discovery.” 

“ You don’t,” exclaimed Jack in a surprised tone. 
“ Suppose you tell me the name of Rompey’s young 
master.” 

“ Why Harold, of course ; ain’t I the dog’s young 
master ? ” 

“ I don’t mean that,” replied Jack. “ You remem- 
204 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ber what your uncle said when you were given permis- 
sion to keep Rompey, when we told him the dog at once 
came and laid himself down at your feet, that ‘ I be- 
lieve that dog had a young master and that is the 
reason he selected you, Harold, from the rest.’ ” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Harold, now greatly interested. 
“ Do you think, Jack, that you’ve discovered what this* 
boy’s name was, supposing there was such a boy ? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ I think I’ve discovered his 
name.” 

“ Please explain yourself, Jack,” said Harold. 

“It is this way,” said Jack; “Rompey evidently 
recognizes the song we call by his name. It must, 
therefore, have been a song that made an impression 
on his mind, possibly because it has been so frequently 
repeated or is connected with pleasant memories. I 
imagine that his young master either whistled or sang 
it often, and that possibly it was frequently sung in the 
house in which his young master lived. If this was 
so, then I would reason out that his name was 
Charley.” 

“ How can we find out? ” asked Harold. 

“ That’s easy,” said Jack, “ watch Rompey while we 
sing 4 Charley, Come Back to me.’ ” 

As they repeated the words of the refrain Rompey 
showed the same great excitement, looking up into 
Harold’s face with a sorrowful look, so that at last 
tears actually ran down out of the animal’s eyes. 

44 Why, look at that, Jack,” exclaimed Harold, 
44 Rompey ’s actually crying.” 

205 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Now, Harold,” said Jack, “ look at him closely,” 
and then addressing the dog, he said : “ Rompey, 
where’s Charley; go find Charley.” 

The behavior of the dog was extremely curious. 
He became so excited that he actually wept aloud, 
looking around eagerly as if he expected some one 
to come, and then seeing no one, he began looking al- 
ternately from Harold to Jack in a beseeching manner, 
as if he was trying to say : 

“ Please find Charley for me.” 

“ Do you want Charley, Rompey? ” asked Jack. 

Rompey jumped up and wagged his tail and began 
looking around him in an excited manner as if he 
thought his young master was actually going to appear. 

Rompey’s actions were so surprising that the boys 
called the captain and Hiram to come and look at the 
dog. 

“ Come here, Uncle Arthur,” said Harold, “ I think 
Jack has discovered the name of Rompey’s young 
master. I mean the young lad you thought he formerly 
belonged to before we took him out of the drifting 
boat.” 

“ What do you think the name is, Harold ? ” in- 
quired the captain. 

“ Come here and I’ll tell you,” said Harold. 

As the captain was approaching Jack whispered in 
his ear : 

“ Ask Rompey if he wants Charley to come to him.” 

“ Do you want Charley, Rompey?” said the cap- 
tain. 


206 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Again the dog showed great excitement, not only 
wagging his tail and making a wonderful series of 
barkings, but he also rested his paws on the captain's 
shoulders and began barking as if he was saying : 

“ Please bring Charley to me.” 

“ There’s no doubt in my mind, Jack,” said the cap- 
tain, “ that Rompey’s former master’s name was Char- 
ley. The dog’s memory has been so impressed by the 
name and the song, that the air or tune awakens these 
old memories, and this is especially so when the name 
Charley is heard.” 

But they had another proof that both Rompey and 
Satan possessed the ability to reason. It soon became 
evident both knew that certain strokes on the bell 
meant a call to meals. For example, eight bells or 
twelve o’clock meant the dinner hour. And there were 
no members of the crew who responded more promptly 
to these bells than Rompey and Satan. Indeed, they 
were generally the first to reach the cabin in which the 
meals were now regularly served. This fact was re- 
marked by Harold, who had been constantly on the 
lookout for evidences of reasoning power on the parts 
of the animals. 

“ These animals,” he said to Jack, “ know what the 
bells mean as well as you or I do.” 

This behavior of the bird and the dog concerning 
the call to meals was far from being an unusual thing. 
Very probably some of my readers who may chance 
to have pet animals know that they soon become fa- 
miliar with the meal hours, and manage to be on hand 
20 7 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


at the proper time. That the dog and bird knew the 
significance of the eight bells and could count up to 
eight was evident from the fact that at that particular 
time of the day it was only eight bells they would pay 
any attention to, so that it was either because they had 
an idea of the number and could count at least up to 
eight, or had some idea of the lapse of time so that the 
particular eight bells in the middle of the day meant for 
them a call to dinner, as much as if the words had been 
used instead of the taps of the bell. 

Something happened one day that proved the ani- 
mals had reasoned out some connection between eight 
bells and the bringing of food from the galley to the 
cabin; for while the captain and the two boys were 
sitting on the deck reading they were surprised to hear 
eight bells sounded. 

“ Hello ! ” exclaimed the captain looking at his 
watch, “ Hiram is some fifteen minutes early. Jack, go 
and see how he has made such a mistake. Tell him 
he has sounded the bells fifteen minutes sooner than 
he should have done.” 

As Jack went to the galley, Hiram, who saw him 
coming, cried : 

“ Now, Mr. Jack, either you or Mr. Harold have 
been a-monkeying with the bell. Ye mustn’t do thet. 
I suppose you are hungry and wanted to hurry dinner.” 

“ You’re wrong there, Hiram,” exclaimed Jack. 
“ Harold and I were seated on the deck with the 
captain when we heard eight bells sounded. The cap- 
tain, thinking you had made a mistake, sent me to ask 
208 

























“ Satan 
the 


on the support of the 
clapper in his claivs ” 


bell with 


Page 209 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


you how it was, for the bell was sounded some fifteen 
minutes too early.” 

When Jack assured him that neither he, the captain, 
nor Harold had sounded the bells he was not only 
greatly surprised but evidently no little frightened. 

“ Wall, Mr. Jack,” he exclaimed, “ now do ye be- 
lieve in speerits? If neither ye, nor Harold, nor yet 
the captain sounded them strokes what could it hev 
been but a speerit or a ghost ? ” 

“ Must have been a hungry ghost,” said Jack laugh- 
ing. 

“ Now, Mr. Jack,” said Hiram, “ don’t joke about 
this here thing, it’s serious. Do you know what these 
here sounds on the bell means ? ” 

“ No,” said Jack, “ unless it means that somebody 
was hungry and wants to hurry the dinner.” 

“ No,” said Hiram; “ it means that some one in this 
here crew is soon goin’ to want for wittles.” 

Just then eight bells sounded again. They all ran to- 
ward the bell before which they found the captain stand- 
ing, laughing heartily ; for there were both Rompey and 
Satan — Rompey standing under the bell and Satan on 
the support of the bell with the clapper in his claws, 
giving the bell fairly strong strokes. The strokes not 
only followed one another at the same intervals that 
were employed when regularly sounding them, but as 
soon as eight bells had been sounded Satan stopped. 
When the sound ceased both animals looked at them 
and proceeded gravely toward the cabin looking back 
every now and then as much as to say : 
o 209 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Come to dinner ; don’t you hear the bells ? ” While 
Satan added the very appropriate phrase : “ I am starv- 
ing! I am starving! Give me some food.” 

They all joined the captain in laughing at the clever- 
ness of the trick. It was evidently due to the combined 
sagacity of both animals, but probably mainly to Rom- 
pey, who unable to reach the clapper of the bell had 
persuaded Satan to do the striking. In order to pre- 
vent the recurrence of this trick both animals were 
punished by being deprived of the meal that was 
served when the eight bells were properly sounded. 

Being so much together the dog and the parrot soon 
became great friends. They played and frolicked with 
each other like little children. Satan had a habit of 
hiding little articles that Rompey had taken a fancy for. 
The bird seemed to enjoy the dog’s long hunt for the 
lost article, and it was only when Rompey would give 
the search up in disgust that Satan would go and bring 
the article and, watching until Rompey was looking in 
another direction, would quietly place it in some out- 
of-the-way portion of the deck when it would call out 
to Rompey something that of course the boys could 
not understand, but which Rompey seemed to under- 
stand thoroughly, for he would at once run to the 
place and get the missing article. 

Although Rompey seemed to take this play of 
Satan’s in good part for the first three or four times, 
it was evident that he was growing suspicious of his 
companion; for one day while playing with a bit of 
wood that Harold had been whittling, he left it on the 
210 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


deck where the parrot could see it and, pretending to 
forget it, walked off to another part of the deck. He 
was watching it, however; for as soon as Satan, be- 
lieving he would not be seen, had seized the bit of 
wood in his talons and was about flying away with it, 
Rompey, suddenly turning, barked as if to say : 

“ I got you that time, old fellow,” and both animals 
appeared to enjoy the joke immensely. 

The neighborhood of the galley-fire when cooking 
was going on was a favorite spot for both dog and bird, 
which they spent no little time in watching. Hiram, 
who was a good-natured fellow, would throw them 
little odds and ends every now and then which they 
greatly enjoyed eating. One day when something was 
being prepared of which both animals were very fond, 
they had begged in vain for some of it before the din- 
ner hour. Hiram, however, took no notice of them 
when the bird and the dog leaving the galley-fire went 
a little distance off and apparently formed some plot, 
for after a while they quietly returned to the galley. 
The two boys, who like the dog and the bird, also 
frequently visited the galley-fire had noticed the be- 
havior of the animals, so that when they returned Jack 
said to Harold: 

“ Don’t say anything, Harold ; let’s watch them. I 
think they’ll try to fool Hiram. I don’t know how, but 
there is evidently some mischief afoot.” 

Jack was correct. Hiram, who had been smoking 
his pipe during the preparation of the dinner, at last 
reached some point where it was necessary to give 
21 1 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


his entire mind to the cooking. He had therefore taken 
his pipe from his mouth and placed it on the top of a 
small table that stood near the galley fire for the con- 
venience of holding the things he needed in the prepa- 
ration of the meal. As soon as Hiram had placed the 
pipe on the table and had turned toward the galley- 
fire, thus placing his back to the table, Rompey, look- 
ing at the bird as if to say, “ Now’s your chance,” 
Satan seized the pipe in its talons, quickly flew with it 
from the galley, and after the absence of about a 
minute returned and perched near Rompey. 

The boys observed what the bird had done with 
great enjoyment. 

“ Don’t say anything to Hiram,” whispered Harold ; 
“ let’s see what they’ll do next.” 

As soon as Hiram had attended to the particular 
work at the galley-fire, he stepped toward the bench to 
regain his pipe, but of course was unable to find it. 

“ ’Pears to me I left it there,” he exclaimed, as if 
talking to himself. “ I’m afeered I’m gittin’ fergetful.” 

“ What are you looking foj*, Hiram? ” inquired Jack 
in an innocent tone. 

“ My pipe,” was the reply; “ please help me find it, 
boys.” 

They pretended to do so, but of course the pipe was 
not found, so Hiram after thoroughly looking all over 
the galley several times gave it up in great disappoint- 
ment. It was only when he had evidently given up 
any further search for the pipe that Satan flew out of 
the room and returning, apparently taking an oppor- 
212 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tunity when Hiram was looking in another direction, 
quietly placed the pipe in one of the corners of the 
room, when Rompey, to whom this part of the game 
had evidently been given, gravely went to this corner 
of the room, took the pipe carefully in his mouth and 
came to Hiram with it, wagging his tail as if to say : 

“ Here’s your pipe, Hiram. Ain’t I a clever dog,” 
and then again begged for the choice tidbits that he 
had before unsuccessfully asked Hiram for several 
times. 

Hiram, not seeing through the trick, said : 

“ Clever dog; I’ll give ye something fer finding my 
pipe.” 

As soon as Rompey received his reward he at once 
proceeded to share it with Satan. 

Hiram was greatly pleased at what he thought was 
the cleverness of the animal, and even when the boys 
told him all that they had observed, he could not but 
acknowledge that the trick they had played on him in 
order to obtain the choice bits for which they had 
previously begged in vain had been well planned. 


213 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XVI 

A Most Perilous Position 

There were several days in succession when the ocean 
was sufficiently free from floating kelp or wrack to 
permit squidding during portions of the day. One 
afternoon when the outlook for this kind of fishing 
promised to be unusually good, the boys obtained per- 
mission from the captain to fish from the stern of the 
life-boat, which had been securely fastened by a long 
rope at the stern of the brig. The captain and Hiram 
had lowered the boat from the davits. The captain 
who stood watching Hiram securely fastening the end 
of the rope to the brig then cried to the boys : 

“ When you get enough fishing call one of us and 
we’ll take you in and place the boat again on the 
davits.” 

“ All right, uncle,” cried Harold. “ If we have any 
luck we’ll catch a good mess of fish for supper.” 

Before leaving the boys the captain again stopped 
to examine the knots that fastened the boat to the brig. 

“ I reckon ye needn’t worry about thet, cap’in,” said 
Hiram. “ There’s no slip in thet knot.” 

“ No,” replied the captain, “ it’s all right. It would 
be bad business, Hiram, if it managed to get loose.” 

“ I’m not denying thet,” replied Hiram; “ but thar’s 
no danger, sir. This end is all right. As to t’other 
214 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


end, I looked at it only this morning and med it tight, 
and thar’s no reason fer anybody to hev meddled with 
it.” 

It was a pleasant afternoon. The air was wonder- 
fully clear, so the boys looked forward to a lot of sport. 
• As they threw their lines overboard it was great fun 
to watch them trail after the brig in the clear water. 
Every now and then the squid could be seen skimming 
over the surface of the water. When the sunlight fell 
on it, it threw a flash of light that made it appear like a 
fish swimming rapidly after the brig. It is no wonder, 
therefore, that even the keen-eyed fish thought it was 
one of the smaller fish on which they lived following 
in the wake of the vessel. Every now and then a good- 
sized mackerel, or other fish, would suddenly dart up 
from below and catching the deceptive bait was caught 
on the hook and hauled on board by the boys. 

They were having great luck that afternoon, and had 
taken some twenty good-sized fish. They had there- 
fore became so interested in their sport that they took 
no notice of a dense fog that had suddenly risen. At 
last, however, the fog so obscured the light of the sun 
that the fish ceased to bite for they could no longer see 
the squid flashing through the water. They there- 
fore hauled in their lines, placing them carefully in the 
bottom of the boat, and then began crying : 

“ Brig ahoy ! Hiram ahoy ! Come pull us in ; we’re 
through fishing and have had great luck.” 

Although they shouted in a loud voice, still no an- 


swer came. 


215 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ That’s very odd, Harold,” said Jack. “ Surely they 
can’t help hearing us at the little distance we are from 
the brig.” 

“ Oh, perhaps, they are both in the cabin or attend- 
ing to something in the hold,” said Harold. “ Cry out 
again, Jack, and I’ll help you.” 

So the two boys again cried out at the top of their 
voices. 

“Brig ahoy! Brig ahoy! Take us on board, 
please.” 

But still there came no answer. 

“ Harold,” said Jack, “ help me pull on the painter 
and that will bring us so near the brig as to make them 
hear us, and if they don’t, we’ll climb on board and 
surprise them.” 

As the boys stooped down in the end of the boat to 
take hold of the line they were unable to find it. 

“ It’s a pretty dense fog, Jack,” said Harold. “ I 
can’t even see the painter.” And then looking up and 
seeing the alarmed look on Jack’s face, he said : “ Why 
what’s the matter, Jack? ” 

“ You don’t see the painter, Harold, because it ain’t 
here,” was the reply. “ The painter has become 
loosened. We are adrift! And in so dense a fog that 
we can neither see the brig nor can those on the brig 
see us. We are in very great danger.” 

“ Don’t give up too soon, Jack,” said Harold ; “ let’s 
shout again as loud as both of us can. Perhaps we can 
make them hear us.” 

Both boys again shouted : 

216 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Brig ahoy ! ” and continued shouting until they 
were hoarse, but no reply came from the brig. They 
had evidently been loose for some time, and the dis- 
tance between them was too great to enable their cries 
to be heard. 

“ Jack,” cried Harold, “ this is indeed awful. Do 
you think we will ever see the brig again ? ” 

“ I hope so, Harold,” exclaimed Jack. “ But what- 
ever we do don’t let us lose our heads. We must keep 
cool so as to be able to take advantage of any chances 
that present themselves for again getting back to the 
brig. But, Harold,” he continued, “ I can’t under- 
stand how our end of the painter has become untied. 
There has certainly been no necessity for any one 
touching it, and I remember this morning only a little 
while after breakfast that Hiram tied this end in a 
knot that he said could not become unfastened. Don’t 
you remember we were talking about that kind of a 
knot yesterday as being the kind of knot used for this 
purpose because it could not slip.” 

“ Jack,” said Harold in a very sorrowful tone, “ do 
you think you can ever forgive me ? Iam to blame for 
the painter coming unloosed.” 

“ What do you mean, Harold,” said Jack greatly 
surprised. “ You certainly never purposely untied the 
painter, did you ? ” 

“ Of course I didn’t,” replied Harold reproachfully. 
“ I got thinking of that knot yesterday after I left you, 
and I thought I would try to see if I couldn’t make one 
as well as Hiram, so I unfastened the end of the rope 
217 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


and then made it into a knot just as I thought Hiram 
had made it and, as I believed, quite as secure as the 
one he had tied. But now, Jack, we are adrift, and 
that shows of course that the knot was not worth any- 
thing. I shall never forgive myself. Indeed, I feel 
so bad that I don’t care what happens to me, were it not 
for your never getting back again.” 

“ Now don’t worry, Harold,” said Jack, “ you didn’t 
intend to get us into this trouble. I’m sure that if you 
escape you will never meddle with so important a rope 
as a painter.” 

“ I certainly never will,” said Harold regretfully. 
“ What in the world will Uncle Arthur say when he 
hears it ? ” 

“ I guess he will be so glad to see both of us again 
that he will at once forgive you,” said Jack. 

The fog of course was too dense for them to see the 
sun, but it rapidly grew much darker, and the boys 
knew that the sun had set. 

Jack felt, being the older of the two boys, that their 
safety would depend largely on what he did. There 
were two pairs of oars in the boat. At first Jack 
thought that both he and Harold would pull as hard 
as they could with the hopes of reaching the brig, but 
then he reflected that they didn’t know the direction 
in which the brig lay, and the chances being greater 
that they would go in the wrong direction, they would 
get farther and farther again from the brig. He there- 
fore determined to talk the matter over with Harold. 

“ Harold,” he said, “ I want you to tell me what you 
218 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


think would be the best thing to do. If we remain in 
the boat we may be sure that both it and the brig will 
be carried by the current in the same direction, only I 
think the brig is drifting faster than we are. Now if 
we row and happen to get the right direction we can 
overtake the brig, but if we go in the wrong direction 
we will be getting farther from the brig. Do you 
think we had better row or simply drift after the brig 
with the current ? ” 

Harold, who was a very bright boy, thought a 
moment and then said : 

“ I think, Jack, we had better drift. Then when the 
morning comes and the sun rises, if the fog lifts, we 
may be able to see the brig.” 

“ I guess you are right, Harold,” said Jack, “ so let 
us store away the oars in the bottom of the boat.” 

The fog which had risen so quickly was not observed 
by either the captain or Hiram until at least half an 
hour after it had fallen. Indeed, they were so busy 
attending to some work in the middle hold that had it 
not been for Rompey who came into the cabin crying 
and at last persuaded them to follow him to the deck, 
that they would probably have remained some time 
longer in ignorance of it. Since Rompey had estab- 
lished his reputation for intelligence this time he had 
no difficulty in persuading them to follow him. 

“ There’s something wrong on deck,” said the cap- 
tain. “ Let’s see what it is.” 

On reaching the deck they saw the fog which had 
219 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


now become so dense that they could not see the bow of 
the brig. _ ? 11$^ 

“ The dog has seen the fog,” said the captain, “ and 
has come to tell us about it.” 

But that was not the only message the dog had come 
to bring them. There was clearly something more im- 
portant on his mind ; for resting his front paws on the 
taffrail he looked over the stern of the vessel and began 
howling mournfully. 

“ I don’t like to see that, cap’in,” cried Hiram; 
“ sorter looks as though something has happened to the 
lads.” 

“ Nor I,” said the captain, “ let’s call the boys and 
tell them to come on board.” 

“ That’s right, cap’in,” said Hiram. “ I don’t like 
the youngsters being out alone in this here fog.” So 
they both shouted out at the top of their voices : 

“ Boat ahoy ! Get ready to come on board.” 

To their great surprise no answer came from the 
boat. Both men, greatly alarmed, looked at each other 
with consternation, and both simultaneously took hold 
of the end of the rope to gradually draw the boat to 
the brig. 

But there was no resistance. Instead of having a 
boat with two good-sized boys in it to pull toward the 
brig there was practically no resistance, and soon the 
end of the painter was in their hands. 

“ My God ! ” exclaimed the captain ; “ they are 
adrift in the fog.” 

“ Let’s shout,” said Hiram; “ it may be thet they kin 
220 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


hear us, and ef they kin there orter be no trouble 
with the oars in the boat of their reaching us.” 

Both began calling out at the top of their voices : 

“ Boat ahoy ! Boat ahoy ! ” 

Hiram ran into the charthouse and brought out a 
fog-horn through which sounds ought to have been 
heard under ordinary conditions for half a mile or 
more, but no sound came from the ocean. If the boat 
was still floating with the boys in it, it was evidently at 
a great distance from the brig. 

“ I fear, Hiram,” said the captain, “ our dear boys 
are lost. I should never have given them permission 
to fish from the boat. It was very careless in my do- 
ing so, and I shall never forgive myself should harm 
come to them.” 

“ Now, don’t ye worry, sir,” said Hiram. “ Mr. Jack 
hez a good head and he alius takes it with him too ; he 
don’t lose it. He’ll fetch the boat back, don’t ye fear. 
And then again Master Harold’s no baby. We’ll see 
them boys again for sartin. Remember the boat kain’t 
sink.” 

“ Yes,” replied the captain, “ and remember too, we 
always keep plenty of water and food on the boat. 
You put it on this morning, Hiram, did you not, as 
usual ? ” 

“ Sartin,” replied Hiram ; “ and the canned goods 
hev alius been thar since we built the boat, and I saw 
that both water-barrels were full this mornen.” 

In the meanwhile Rompey showed signs of intense 
excitement, and continued barking as loud as he could. 

221 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


He then, removing his front paws from the taffrail 
placed them successively on the shoulders of the two 
men, acting as though he was begging them to get the 
two boys. 

“ Look at the critter,” said Hiram. “ I’m hanged if 
the animal hasn’t more sense than most men hev.” 

“What’s the matter, Rompey?” inquired the cap- 
tain turning to the dog. 

Rompey replied by a prolonged mournful howl. 

“ Rompey,” cried the captain, “ where’s Jack, 
where’s Harold? Find them, Rompey, find them.” 

The poor animal looked for a moment at the captain 
again, and then without any further hesitation jumped 
overboard and soon disappeared in the fog in the wake 
of the vessel. 

“ Poor affectionate dog,” cried the captain. “ I 
didn’t suppose for a moment he would jump overboard, 
Hiram. Let’s arrange some form of light that we can 
show from the brig to give the boys some idea of where 
we are.” 

“ All right, sir,” was the reply ; “ but I’m afeered 
that no light ken shine very fur in this here fog.” 

They built a fire on the deck, being careful of course 
not to set fire to the deck or other part of the brig. 
They kept supplying it with fuel through the night 
without, however, seeing any signs of the boys. 

After the boys had determined not to make any 
effort to row, they sat quietly in the boat peering 
eagerly in the direction in which it was drifting, ho- 
222 












































' 




w 


“ He soon came up to 
helping him in ” 


the boat, the boys 
Page 223 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ping to see the brig. After a while Harold turned in 
an excited manner to his companion and said : 

“ Listen, Jack, I hear the barking of a dog.” 

“ You’re right, Harold, that’s Rompey’s bark. We 
must be near the brig. Let’s shout out again.” 
j So they continued crying : 

“ Brig ahoy ! Brig ahoy ! ” 

Rompey, who was swimming vigorously toward 
them, recognized their voices and now began barking 
in a louder and more joyful tone. He soon came up to 
the boat, the boys helping him in. The poor dog, who 
was almost exhausted by his long swim, yet tried his 
best by the waggings of his tail and the licking of 
their hands and faces, together with occasional barking, 
to show them how glad he was to be with them 
again. 

“ Where’s the captain, Rompey? Where’s Hiram? ” 

The dog looked into their faces and simply barked. 

“ I guess Rompey jumped into the ocean when he 
missed us. He has clearly been swimming for some 
time for, as you see, he appears to be nearly ex- 
hausted.” 

“ As Rompey came directly from the brig why can’t 
,we row in the direction in which he approached us.” 

“ That’s a good idea, Harold, but I don’t remember 
in what direction he came. All I remember is that I 
heard his barking and saw him at one end of the boat, 
but I don’t know in what direction he approached us. 
Do you ? ” 

“ No,” said Harold, “ I do not.” 

223 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


They sat for a full hour in the boat with the dog 
between them, every now and then calling out to the 
brig. At last Harold turning to Jack said : 

“ Is there any water and food in the boat, Jack? ” 

“ Yes, Harold,” was the reply, “ there are both. 
You know the captain has always made it a rule since 
the boat was built to keep both food and water on it; 
for he said that we never knew when we might have to 
leave the brig suddenly. I remember only yesterday 
he told Hiram to be sure to keep a good supply of water 
and food on the boat. Indeed, I remember helping 
Hiram fill the two water-barrels with fresh water from 
the tank. HI get you a drink, Harold,” he continued, 
“ but at the same time I think it would be a good idea 
if we both got something to eat.” 

“ I don’t feel much like eating, Jack,” said Harold. 
“ I can’t forgive myself for meddling with that 
painter.” 

“ Now, Harold,” said Jack, “ there’s no use con- 
tinuing to worry about that. Worrying won’t do any 
good. Let’s look at it just as if it was a mistake. But 
let’s eat and keep our strength up, for we will probably 
need all the strength and courage we have before we 
get out of this dangerous position.” 

Jack’s excellent advice was followed. At first neither 
of the boys cared much for eating, but somehow or 
other, when they once started to eat, their appetites 
grew and they did not stop until they had eaten a good, 
hearty meal, washed down with several good drinks 
of water. This meal, it is needless to say, was shared 
224 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


with Rompey who appeared to think that everything 
was right now that he was again with his young 
master. 

The fog grew denser during the night, and the 
darkness finally became so intense that it was impossi- 
ble for them to see the length of the boat. 

Jack proposed that they take turns at sleeping, one 
to watch while the other slept, but Harold said : 

“ I don’t care to take any sleep, Jack. You turn in 
and I’ll watch.” 

But Jack refused to do this, so they both sat through 
the entire night with the dog between them. 

Toward morning, although a dense fog still covered 
everything, the fact of the night being spent was shown 
by the darkness less dense. After breakfast while still 
sitting in the boat, Rompey jumped to his feet and be- 
gan barking furiously. The boys noticed at once that 
it was not an angry bark, but a joyous bark. 

“ Rompey scents the brig,” cried Harold and Jack. 
“ Let us both shout as loud as we can.” So they 
again began crying : 

“ Brig ahoy ! Brig ahoy ! ” 

It seems that Rompey’s bark had been heard by the 
captain and Hiram who were still on deck keeping up 
the signal fire. 

“ I hear ’em, cap’in,” cried Hiram, “ thet’s Rompey 
barken.” 

While they listened the boys’ voices came out sharp 
and clear : 

“ Brig ahoy ! Brig ahoy ! ” 
p 225 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Thank God,” exclaimed the captain, “ there they 
are.” 

Before long the captain’s and Hiram’s shoutings 
were answered by the boys. As soon as the boys dis- 
covered the position of the brig by the direction of the 
voices they commenced rowing vigorously, and in a 
short time came in sight. A rope was thrown them 
which Jack made fast to a ring in the bow of the life- 
boat, and soon the men and the boys were hugging 
each other in joy at their meeting again. 

“ O Uncle Arthur,” exclaimed Harold as soon as 
he could speak, “ it was all my fault the painter broke 
loose. I was trying to see if I could make the same 
kind of a knot that Hiram made. I thought I had 
succeeded, but my knot was no good. Can you ever 
forgive me?” 

“ Captain,” said Jack, “ Harold has suffered greatly 
for his thoughlessness in meddling with the painter. I 
hope you will forgive him, for he has been punished 
very severely already by his conscience.” 

“ All right, Harold,” said the captain, “ only I’m 
sure you’ll be careful never to let such a thing happen 
again. Hiram,” continued the captain, “ let’s prepare 
breakfast.” 

“ I will thet, sir,” was the reply, “ and I’ll try to 
make this here breakfast one that we sha’n’t forget, for 
this is such a day of joy wot don’t come often into 
one’s life. Go git the fish, boys, thet ye caught. I 
guess we kin enjoy them now.” 


226 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XVII 

The Post-boxes of the Sea 

The narrow escape from lingering death in the open 
boat thoroughly dampened the boys’ ardor for squid 
fishing, and although they occasionally threw the 
squids overboard it was always from the stern of the 
brig, for the security offered by the brig contrasted so 
strongly with that of the life-boat that they never again 
needlessly risked being alone in it. Of course, neither 
boy would have hesitated to go into the boat even alone 
if any matter of importance required it, but to do this 
merely to enjoy the sport of fishing was something 
they wisely determined not to indulge in. Conse- 
quently, they were more frequently together with the 
captain in the cabin or on deck, or in other parts of the 
brig with Hiram helping him in his work. 

Harold had not forgotten the serious accident that 
almost resulted from his meddling with the painter of 
the life-boat. Although by no means contemplating 
the untying of ropes of this character, he endeavored 
to prevail upon Hiram to show him how properly to 
make the different kinds of knots. 

“ Sartin, Harold,” remarked Hiram, when he had 
formally made the request. “ Glad ter do so. I hev 
calculated to show ye how to make knots in ropes thet’ll 
hold ever sense you made so bad a knot on the painter 
227 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


of the life-boat. While I go and look up some pieces of 
rope to larn ye with, go call Master Jack, for I might as 
well larn the two of ye together.” 

Hiram soon returned with several pieces of rope. 
Jack was much pleased when he heard what Hiram 
was going to do and came at once with Harold. Al- 
though an uneducated man, at least so far as his mother 4 
tongue was concerned, Hiram was far better educated 
in the ways of the sea and in seamanship than most 
sailors. He was a good teacher and had bright boys 
for his pupils — boys who were anxious to learn what 
he was about to show them. 

“ My lads,” he said, “ don’t fergit there be two pints 
about any sailor’s good knot. The fust is to make a 
knot thet won’t readily loosen or come untied when 
pulled, and the second pint is to make a knot thet won’t 
jam, by which I means a knot thet kin easily be ontied 
when one wants to ontie it. Now these two things are 
so contrary and opposite, so to speak, thet I don’t 
wonder a landsman can’t easily git onto them. Ef 
course ye can understand when I tell ye that I know 
more than two hundred different kinds of knots thet I 
don’t calc’late to larn ye all of ’em. I’ll only pick out 
some of the importanter of them and larn ye ’em one at 
a time. When ye think ye can make ’em in these bits 
of rope I’m goin’ to leave with you, bring ’em to me ; 
ef I pass ’em we’ll go on to the next knot, and ef I 
don’t, back ye go with it and try it over agin until ye 
larn it.” 

Under this very sensible system of instruction in the 
228 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


art of knot-making, the boys soon learned how to make 
the most important of the knots that would hold fast 
when pulled against, and yet which could be easily un- 
loosed when so desired. Quite naturally, Hiram began 
with knots especially intended to hold the ends of ropes 
like painters, and when Harold had brought him the 
knot of this character that passed his careful inspection, 
he said : 

“ Now, my lad, ye know how to tie a fust-class knot 
of this kind ; but nevertheless, howsumever, don’t ye go 
monkeyin’ around eny painter knots thet the captain 
or I hev fixed, fer it’ll be some time afore ye kin make 
a knot as safe as a man kin.” 

They had now been on the brig for more than two 
months, and had so settled down to their new life that 
everything was going on smoothly. The captain had 
become greatly interested in the manuscript of the book 
on the “ Physical Geography of the Sea,” before re- 
ferred to, that Doctor Parsons had been preparing be- 
fore, as the log of the brig declared, he had been swept 
overboard. The manuscript contained considerable 
gaps in certain places which the captain determined, as 
far as the limited possibilities of the brig would permit, 
to fill up. It was his intention, should they ever speak 
a passing vessel and so reach land, to proceed on his 
first opportunity to America to place the manuscript 
in the hands of the doctor’s heirs, and endeavor to 
make some arrangements with them for having the 
work published. 


229 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The manuscript was especially deficient in the direc- 
tion of the ocean currents in the Pacific, and the cap- 
tain had evidently been carefully considering how he 
could best fill out this gap. 

The spare time of the other members of the little 
crew was passed in various ways. The boys found no 
little enjoyment in reading the different books in the 
doctor’s library, in playing with their animal friends 
to whom they became daily more and more attached, 
and in helping Hiram in his duties on the brig; for 
Hiram, not being able to spend his spare time in intel- 
lectual pursuits, was always finding something to do 
that was not included in his daily task. He had dried 
some of the wood from the hold in the vessel, and with 
the aid of the kit of carpenter’s and cabinet-maker’s 
tools he had made various ingenious contrivances for 
adding to their comfort on the brig. 

To the average intelligent boy there is a fascination 
about the use of tools, especially of wood-working 
tools. This was especially true with both Jack and 
Harold, and when Hiram, seeing their great interest in 
this direction, offered to give them daily lessons in car- 
penter work and joinery, they gladly availed themselves 
of his offer. 

There was one kind of employment that is very com- 
monly resorted to by people who have more time on 
their hands than is necessary for their everyday work, 
and that is letter-writing. While such occupation 
might naturally be undertaken by people at sea where 
there is always a chance of meeting a vessel going in 
230 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the opposite direction willing to exchange letters and 
forward them to their destinations, such of course was 
not the case on the brig. It is not surprising, therefore, 
that one day, as Jack suddenly went into the cabin to 
get a book from the library, he was astounded to find 
the captain writing something that certainly looked 
very much like a letter. 

“ Why, captain,” cried Jack in astonishment; “ you 
are certainly not writing a letter, are you? ” 

The captain saw Jack’s surprise, and wishing to jolly 
him replied: 

“ Why yes, Jack, I’m writing a letter. Why should 
that surprise you ? ” 

“ I was only wondering, sir,” said Jack, “ what you 
intended to do with the letter when you finished writ- 
ing it.” 

“ Why, what should I do with it ? ” asked the cap- 
tain still pretending not to understand him. “ I’ll mail 
it, of course.” 

At first Jack could hardly believe the evidence of his 
ears. 

“ Mail a letter in mid-ocean,” he thought. “ Why 
what can have come over the captain.” And then the 
apprehension seized Jack’s mind that the responsibility 
or the loneliness to which the captain had been sub- 
jected was gradually breaking down his splendid 
mind. 

Quite naturally these thoughts caused Jack’s face to 
assume such an appearance of mingled horror and 
pity that the captain could hardly refrain from laugh- 
231 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ing outright. He conquered this desire, however, and 
simply said : 

“ Jack, why are you looking at me in such a sur- 
prised and alarmed manner? Do you fear I am be- 
coming weak-minded and am losing my powers of 
thought ? ” 

Jack, who had been thinking this very thing, blushed 
furiously and said: 

“ I must have been mistaken, captain. I thought 
you said that you would mail this letter as soon as 
you finished writing it. I understand now that I must 
have mistaken you.” 

“ Not at all,” replied the captain, still with difficulty 
keeping his face grave ; “ I said I would mail this 
letter as soon as I finished it and I intend to do so. If 
you’ll help me you and I will mail it together.” 

“ But where can we mail it, sir? ” Jack inquired still 
more surprised. 

“ In the mail-boxes of the ocean,” said the captain. 

Jack was now thoroughly convinced that the captain 
had lost his reasoning powers, so he inquired in an 
anxious tone : “ Are you feeling all right to-day, cap- 
tain; can I do anything for you? ” 

“Only to help me prepare this letter for mailing,” the 
captain replied ; and then seeing that his young friend 
was suffering from the awful thought that he had lost 
his mind he added : “ Now, Jack, there is no occasion 
for you to be at all worried. My mind is as strong as 
it ever was. Indeed, I think the long rest I’ve had to- 
gether with the pleasant congenial work on the brig, 
232 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


have put my mind in better working condition than 
it has been at any time during the past fifteen years. 
Listen now and HI tell you how we’ll mail this letter 
as soon as I finish writing it. 

“ See here,” he continued, picking up a large, strong, 
and thoroughly dry bottle that was laying on the cabin 
table near a stout, strong cork ; “ when I have finished 
writing and have dried this letter, I will loosely roll it 
up in this manner,” he said. “ As soon as the letter 
has dried I will place it in the bottle thus, and I will 
seal the bottle water-tight with this cork, driving it 
into the bottle with this wooden mallet, and will then 
cut off all the cork that projects above the top of the 
bottle and will make a water-tight seal with this seal- 
ing-wax,” all of which he did, closely watched by Jack. 

“ Now,” he continued, placing the bottle on the 
table, “ as soon as the seal has thoroughly cooled we 
will take the bottle and going to the deck of the brig 
will throw it overboard from the stern. The bottle 
will remain floating as long as the water is kept out of 
it and, since it cannot leak and the chances are all 
against anything striking it and breaking it, it should 
remain floating for months or even for years unless 
it is picked up at sea or found on the coast of some 
island or continent against which it is washed by the 
waves.” 

“ Oh,” said Jack, “ now I understand what you 
mean by the post-boxes of the sea.” 

At this time Harold’s steps were heard descending 
the companionway. 


233 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Please don’t say anything to Harold, captain,” 
said Jack, “ I want to see how surprised he will be 
when he learns what you have been doing.” 

As soon as Harold came into the cabin Jack said : 

“ Harold, you and I have not written any letters 
for a long time. What do you say to each of us writ- 
ing a letter and letting our friends know where we 
are? ” 

Instead of being at all alarmed as to Jack’s condi- 
tion of mind, Harold at once concluded that his friend 
was kidding him, so he said in a laughing tone : 

“ There’s no hurry about that, Jack. I think we 
will wait until the next mail leaves this part of the 
world.” 

“ But, Harold,” said Jack, “ I have just learned 
from the captain that in this part of the ocean the mail 
collections are so frequent that they are ready to re- 
ceive the mail any time it is ready to go.” 

“ Do you hear the nonsense Jack is giving me, Uncle 
Arthur? ” said Harold laughingly to the captain. “ Did 
you ever hear such nonsense ? ” 

“Why, where’s the nonsense, Harold?” inquired 
his uncle still keeping his face grave; “Jack is per- 
fectly correct. The mail collections here are just as 
he said, made any time the mail is ready to be sent.” 

“ Oh, come now, uncle,” said Harold with a loud 
laugh, “ you surely don’t think I’m as easy as that, do 
you? Please explain yourself.” 

The captain then told Harold what he had been 
doing and showed him the rolled paper inside the 
234 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tightly sealed bottle, and then explained what he and 
Jack intended to do with it. 

Harold was greatly interested when he heard the 
captain’s explanation. 

“ Have you a copy of the letter you placed in that 
bottle, Uncle Arthur?” he inquired. 

“Yes,” said the captain opening the table drawer; 
“ here it is. I’ll read it to you.” He then read the 
following : 

Latitude — N., longitude — W., from Greenwich. This 

bottle was thrown overboard on the day of [then 

followed the date and year]. If found please mail enclosed 
letter to the United States Hydrographic Office, Washington, 
D. C. Arthur Harding. 

“ You see, boys,” he continued, “ I do this for the 
purpose of obtaining information concerning the di- 
rections of the constant ocean currents in this part of 
the Pacific. I have been studying the manuscript of 
the book on the ‘ Physical Geography of the Sea,’ 
written by my old friend Doctor Parsons.” 

“ Captain,” said Jack as soon as the captain was 
through speaking, “ won’t you send another letter 
telling about the loss of the Ketrel? You can thus let 
them know that our boat was separated from the 
others, and that after passing five days on the ocean 
in the storm, we were wrecked by a derelict brig on 
which we are now comfortably and safely placed with 
plenty of food and water.” 

“ I have already done that, Jack,” said the captain, 
“ but I will do it again. Come,” he said, “ let’s pre- 
235 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


pare the letter. Here, Jack, write it on this piece of 
paper with this ink that is especially made for the 
purpose.” 

The captain then dictated the latitude, longitude, and 
date of the month and the year, and added the follow- 
ing: 

The ship Ketrel from Liverpool, bound for Yokohama, 

Japan, was wrecked on the [then giving the date and 

year], in the China Sea in [giving the latitude and longi- 

tude]. The ship’s sides being badly damaged by the rigging 
and masts that were blown overboard during the storm, let 
in water and the ship commenced rapidly to sink. All on 
board were safely transferred to the boats that, after see- 
ing the ship sink, made for the China coast with the largest 
boat, commanded by Capt. Wm. M. Parker, in the lead, 
and the last boat in charge of Lieut. Arthur Harding follow- 
ing. During a second storm which lasted for about five 
days the boats were separated. The boat in command of 
Lieutenant Harding was struck during a dark night of the 
fifth day by a derelict brig. Two of the party in this boat 
were swept overboard, but the remaining four — Lieutenant 
Harding, Hiram Higgenbotham, the boatswain of the Ketrel, 
Harold Arthur Harding, a nephew of Lieutenant Harding, and 
John Parker Jackson, a ward of Wm. M. Parker — reached 
the brig in safety, on which they are now comfortably loca- 
ted with an abundance of food and water. This bottle was 
thrown overboard from the brig. If found, please for- 
ward to the English embassy, Yokohama, Japan, to George 
Harding. 

When Jack finished writing the letter it was care- 
fully dried, rolled up, and inserted in another bottle 
that the captain prepared for the purpose. The bottle 
was then corked, but before being sealed in order to 
throw overboard, Jack said : 

236 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Captain, the bottle is almost sure to float cork 
upward, is it not? ” 

“Yes, Jack,” replied the captain; “look at the 
bottom of the bottle. As you can see, the glass is much 
thicker there than on the sides, so that the greater 
weight of the bottom will make the bottle float cork 
upward.” 

“Then,” said Jack, “before sealing the cork wouldn’t 
it be a good idea to attach a little white flag to a 
slender piece of strong oak and seal it with the cork in 
the top of the bottle. Then as the bottle floats the flag 
will be caught by the wind and waving from the top 
of the bottle will be apt to attract the attention of any 
passing vessel.” 

“ Jack, that is a very ingenious plan,” said the cap- 
tain. “ We will certainly try it.” 

“ Then wait, captain,” said Harold, “ I’ll run and 
ask Hiram to come and let you tell him what we want 
to do.” 

When Hiram, who shortly afterward entered the 
cabin with Harold, was told Jack’s plan he said : 

“ Wall, Mr. Jack, that’s sartinly a bright idee. I’ll 
go to my kit of tools and cut a piece of oak for the 
flagstaff,” and then turning to the captain he said,: 
“ Cap’in, if you have any waterproof linen, cut out a 
small flag from it and put a hem on the edges so that it 
kain’t fray.” 

When everything was ready the two bottles were 
thrown overboard from the stern of the brig. The 
bottle with the flag was first thrown overboard. It 
237 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


disappeared for a moment, but soon reappeared floating 
cork upward, and being caught in the current followed 
in the wake of the brig. In a few minutes the ma- 
terial of the flag was dried by the wind and began to 
flutter in the breeze, for the wind was blowing directly 
toward the stern of the vessel. 

After waiting for a few minutes the bottle first 
prepared was thrown overboard, and like the flag-bottle 
was soon seen floating after the brig. 

As they stood watching the bottles with their glasses 
Jack exclaimed : 

“ See, Harold, the flag-bottle is moving somewhat 
faster than the flagless bottle. It is gradually increas- 
ing its distance from the flagless bottle, for the wind is 
acting on it more powerfully than on the other and is 
driving it ahead.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” inquired Harold as they afterward 
returned to the cabin, “ won’t you place in all the bot- 
tles you throw overboard an account of the shipwreck 
of the Ketrel, the fate of the boats, and the statement 
of our position on the brig? Jack and I will prepare a 
number of these statements, leaving only the latitude, 
longitude, and the date to be filled in, and then we’ll 
fput one of these in each of the bottles you throw over- 
board.” 

“ The idea is an excellent one, Harold,” exclaimed 
the captain. “ I will be very glad to adopt it.” 

“ I suppose,” said Jack, “ that Captain Parker has 
thrown bottles overboard containing accounts of the 
wrecking of the Ketrel, the sinking of the vessel, and 
238 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the transferring of the crew to the boats. Don’t you 
think so ? ” he added, addressing the captain. 

“ I know he did, Jack,” was the reply. “ I saw him 
preparing a letter relating to the wrecking of the ship 
and his intention of transferring the crew to the boats. 
I have no doubt that after this another such letter was 
thrown overboard from the boats. In which case the 
letter would contain an account of the missing of our 
boat.” 

“ And such a bottle,” said Harold in an excited tone, 
“ might possibly be found by us floating in the ocean.” 

“ It might,” said the captain, “ though I don’t think 
it probable.” 

“ Then,” said Harold to Jack, “ let us keep on the 
lookout for such a bottle.” 


239 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XVIII 
A Seaquake 

During the chilly afternoons and evenings of the* 
North Pacific Ocean — for the brig was now in latitude 
50° N. — ‘they found the cabin so warm and comfortable 
that they spent much of their time there talking to the 
captain or reading. At this time the captain, hav- 
ing reached that portion of the manuscript of Doctor 
Parsons’ book relating to this point, was greatly in- 
terested in studying the depths of the ocean. As he 
was unable to make any direct measurements, since 
this would have required the stopping of the brig, he 
had contented himself by comparing the charts pre- 
pared by the doctor with information contained in 
various books in the library. 

One afternoon when they had retired to the cabin 
at a somewhat earlier hour, the captain explained to 
the boys a chart of the Pacific Ocean that was spread 
out on the table and on which were marked by different 
shades of blue, the depths of different parts. When he 
had completed this explanation Jack said: 

“ Captain, I thought that the bed of the ocean was 
almost flat,— that the long time during which sediment 
had gradually been gathering had filled the hollows 
and made the bed an almost level plain ; but this map 
shows that the bottom is exceedingly uneven.” 

240 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ That’s right, Jack,” replied the captain. “ The 
ocean's floor is far from level. It has its mountains, 
hills, plains, and hollows and, although its surface is 
more regular than the surface of the land, still it is 
far from being a flat level plain. On the contrary, 
large portions of the ocean are very shallow, perhaps 
less than a mile or two in depth, while others are three, • 
four, five, and even more than six miles in depth. This 
has been determined by careful soundings which show 
that portions of its bed are characterized by vast pla- 
teaus and plains forming what are called floors. Be- 
sides this the ocean has its submerged mountain 
ranges, the summits of which form island chains. In 
addition to this there are portions called caldrons, the 
slopes of which are deep and abrupt; portions called 
troughs that are marked by narrow and shallow de- 
pressions; and still other portions called shoals where 
the water is less than five fathoms or thirty feet in 
depth.” 

Harold, who had been listening to the captain, was 
evidently surprised when he heard that some por- 
tions of the ocean were over six miles in depth, and 
inquired how it was possible to measure such great 
depths, adding that he imagined that an ordinary line 
with a lead plummet could hardly be used for the, 
purpose. 

“ You are correct, Harold,” was the reply. “ Such a 
plummet would take so long to sink that before it 
reached the bottom the undercurrents would carry it 
to great distances from where it was sunk.” 

Q 241 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Then how do they manage to measure such great 
depths ? ” he inquired. 

“ By means of a sounding apparatus devised by 
Sigsbee, in which in order to decrease the resistance of 
a thick line, a thin steel wire is employed, somewhat 
similar to that used for the strings of pianos. To 
this line is attached a heavy cannon-ball, so arranged 
that when it strikes the bottom, which is known by the 
shock transmitted through the wire, the ball falls off 
and the wire is then readily pulled to the surface. 
Since the heavy balls fall rapidly through the water 
the error produced by the action of the under-currents 
is almost entirely avoided.” 

The statement that there were extended regions in 
the ocean where the water was comparatively shallow 
evidently was a great surprise to Jack, so he asked the 
captain if he would not point out on the map of the 
Pacific Ocean before referred to, in what part of 
this ocean such extended shallow regions existed. 

“ Certainly,” was the reply, and picking up a long 
straight ruler he said, “ If I place the upper edge of 
one end of this ruler against the southern point of 
South America, and the upper part of the other end 
against the northern part of Nippon, the largest of 
the Japan islands, it will pass through most of the 
islands of the Pacific Ocean. Now you can see by 
examining the map, the water here is generally shal- 
low, and is occupied by a huge plateau or level tract 
bearing a number of parallel mountain chains, the tops 
of which form the islands of this part of the Pacific. 

242 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


In some parts however, of this district, the waters are 
far from shallow, the islands rising abruptly from 
profound depths.” 

“ Is the part of the ocean over which the brig is 
now drifting very deep?” asked Jack. 

“ It is. While we were moving through the masses 
of floating wrack or kelp we were over a submerged 
plateau bearing a mountain range, the tops of which 
formed the Aleutian Islands, but as you know we are 
now considerably to the south of this region in a 
portion of the ocean where the water is very deep.” 

“ About how deep ? ” inquired Harold. 

“ The brig is now drifting in water that is at least 
four miles deep.” 

Just as the captain had pronounced these words 
they were surprised by suddenly feeling a blow as if 
the brig had struck against the bottom of the ocean. 
It was a grating sound as if the keel was sliding over a 
rocky bottom. The sound was accompanied by a 
shaking sufficiently severe to throw several small ob- 
jects in the cabin a short distance upward into the air. 

“ The brig has struck against a sunken rock, cap- 
tain,” cried Jack. 

“ It seems so, Jack, and yet I can’t understand it. 
All the charts show that the ocean is quite deep at 
this place.” 

At this moment Hiram came running down the 
companionway and cried to the captain : 

“ As uv course ye’ve heerd, sir, we seem to hev 
struck a sunken reef.” 


243 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Before the captain could answer Hiram there fol- 
lowed two additional shocks not quite so severe as the 
first, and then immediately a heavy rumbling sound 
was heard as if coming from the bottom of the ocean. 

“ It’s no reef, Hiram,” exclaimed the captain. 
“ That sounds more like an earthquake, or,” he said 
turning to the boys, “ more correctly, a seaquake. • 
However, let’s go on deck at once and see if the brig 
has been injured.” 

On reaching the deck they looked in all directions 
for signs of reefs or shoals. There was no fog. The 
sun was still shining, so they could see distinctly in all 
directions, but nothing like reefs was in sight. 

The rumbling sounds were again heard louder than 
before and they could see a low wave moving in every 
direction outward from the vessel. 

“ It’s a seaquake, Hiram, beyond any doubt,” cried 
the captain. 

“ It came so suddent, cap’in,” said Hiram, “ thet I 
war skeered, sure. Says I to myself, ‘ We’ve struck 
a rock or reef, or mebbe another derelict.’ Then I 
looked over the sides to see ef the brig was hurt and 
then I ran to you. I calc’late I better go below and 
see ef the water is any higher in the lower hold.” 

“ All right,” said the captain, “ perhaps that might 
be as well, but I’m sure that it was only a seaquake 
that apparently started almost immediately under the 
brig.” 

Again, as if in confirmation of the captain’s remark, 
they heard another series of rumbling sounds. The 
244 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


brig was again violently shaken, and sounds were 
heard as if the keel was scraping against the bottom. 

This time, however, these sounds were followed by 
a terrific noise that appeared to come from the north. 
This sound, besides being very intense, was prolonged 
for several minutes, it probably being produced as the 
captain remarked, by a number of explosions following 
one another with such rapidity as to produce an almost 
continuous roar. 

“ There is no doubt about what that is,” said the 
captain to Hiram, as he came back to report that the 
water in the lower hold was at the same height, and 
that as far as he could see no damage had occurred to 
the brig. “ It is a volcanic eruption on one of the 
Aleutian Islands.” 

“ You’re sartinly right, cap’in,” said Hiram. “ It 
comes from one of them islands thet lie on the north. 
I’ve heerd tell there be a-many volcanoes thar.” 

“ Had the earthquake shocks anything to do with 
the volcanic eruption, captain?” asked Jack. 

“ Yes, there is an undoubted connection between 
volcanoes and earthquakes. Explosive volcanic erup- 
tions are especially apt to occur after long periods of 
rest, when the volcano is generally believed to have 
become quite extinct. In such cases earthquake shocks 
are apt to precede the eruption,” and then turning to 
Harold he said : “ Harold, get the glasses, please. We 
will then be better able to see what is going on in the 
islands.” 

As they focused the glasses on the distant islands 
245 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


they could distinctly see a huge column of fire from one 
of them that was shot upward into the air for a dis- 
tance probably of several miles. 

As they continued watching the column through the 
glasses they saw a blackish cloud that began to spread 
in all directions. 

“ That’s the ashes falling,” said Jack to Harold. 

“ Yes,” replied the captain, “ and there is an upper 
wind that is blowing that cloud directly toward the 
vessel.” 

“ It looks as if it would be here before long,” said 
Harold. 

In about three-quarters of an hour the cloud of ashes 
had spread in all directions completely obscuring the 
sun and causing a darkness equal to that of night. 
They could now see in the direction of the volcano a 
lurid reddish light, due both to the red-hot ashes that 
were thrown up from the crater, and a column of 
molten lava which they could see as a tiny streak reach- 
ing down the side of the mountain toward the ocean. 

It bothered Harold no little when he noticed the 
speed with which the ashes were being carried from the 
volcano directly toward the brig. 

“ I don’t understand that,” he exclaimed. “ The 
wind here is blowing directly toward the mountain and 
yet the ashes are blowing directly toward the brig.” 

“ That’s due to the action of the upper-current, 
Harold,” explained the captain. “ When the air at 
the surface is blowing in a certain direction there is 
always an upper-current flowing in the opposite direc- 
246 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tion. It is like the undercurrents in the ocean. Were 
it not for these opposite currents all the air or the 
water would tend to collect in one part of the earth.” 

There was one phenomenon attending the eruption 
that deeply impressed itself on the minds of both boys. 
As the ashes were being swiftly carried through the air 
by the wind, gradually cutting off the light of the sun, 
long before the sun was entirely obscured, its disk took 
on a beautiful blood-red color. 

“ Look at the sun, Jack,” cried Harold, for its light 
was so diminished by the suspended ashes that they 
could look at it directly without blinking. “ Looks as 
if it had been turned into blood, don’t it? I wonder 
what that’s the sign of,” he continued to Jack. 

“ It’s a sign that ashes are in the air,” said Jack. 

“ What do you say it’s the sign of, Hiram? ” said 
Harold turning to the boatswain. 

“ Wall, Mr. Harold,” was the reply, “ I’ve always 
heerd my messmates say that when one sees so much 
blood in the sun it’s a wery bad sign, but if as Mr. Jack 
says it can be splained by ashes floatin’ in the air, then 
I hold that the bad sign falls.” 

Hiram saw that Harold was poking fun at him and, 
moreover, he was gradually learning that many of the 
things he had heretofore looked on as portending bad 
luck were matters that could be explained on very 
simple principles, so he gave Harold the above answer. 

“ I’m glad to hear you talk that way, Hiram,” said 
the captain. “ It is much more sensible. When a thing 
be explained in a simple manner it is surely un- 
247 


can 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


necessary to attempt to give it any other explanation.” 

“ I calc’late you’re right there,” was the reply. 

The darkening of the sky gradually increased, and 
at last showers of ashes began to fall on the deck of 
the brig. 

“ Why, they are quite warm,” said Harold feeling 
them. 

“ Yes,” said the captain, “ and had we been nearer 
to the volcano we might have found them hot enough 
to set the deck on fire.” 

“ Do you think they will continue falling for some 
time ? ” inquired Jack. 

“ The chances are that they will,” was the reply. 
“ It is not uncommon during great volcanic eruptions, 
especially of the explosive type, to have such quanti- 
ties of ashes fall from the sky as to cover the land 
for hundreds of miles around to a depth of many 
feet. Indeed, during some volcanic eruptions these 
ashes have collected in such great quantities on the 
roofs of houses as to break them by the great weight.” 

As the captain had predicted, the fall of ashes con- 
tinued. They accumulated on the deck of the brig in 
such quantities, that fearing the weight would cause 
the brig to sink too low in the water, they began the 
laborious work of shoveling them off, using for this 
purpose the shovels they found among the hardware 
stored on the brig. It was hard work and, moreover, 
work they were obliged to keep up for nearly six 
hours. At first, shovel as hard as they could, the ashes 
gained on them, but at last the fall decreased and 
248 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


finally, after very hard work, they had the deck en- 
tirely cleared. The ash-storm had ceased with the ex- 
ception of a fall of fine volcanic ashes. 

“ This is a different kind of stuff from the other,” 
said Harold ; “ is it not, uncle ? ” he inquired. 

* “ Yes,” replied the captain, “ this is not called vol- 

canic ashes but volcanic dust. You remember,” he con- 
tinued, “ my telling you that during the great erup- 
tion of Krakatoa, when the ashes were thrown many 
miles up into the air, the finer particles were carried 
by the wind to widely distant parts of the earth and 
produced most gorgeous red sunsets and sunrises. If 
the weather continues clear I think we will see for 
many days a crimson or bloody sun as well as beautiful 
sunrises and sunsets.” 

They had been so busy clearing the deck of ashes 
that they had very little opportunity of examining the 
ocean. Now, however, when they did they were 
surprised to find the surface of the water covered with 
a thick layer of ashes and pumice-stone. Indeed, this 
layer appeared so dense that it almost looked as if one 
could walk on the water. 

Hiram laughed when Harold suggested this proba- 
bility and said : 

“ Why, my lad, that thar stuff won’t even hold the 
weight of a bucket. See here,” he added, “ I’ll con- 
wince ye of thet,” and taking the bucket that he em- 
ployed for getting water from the ocean, he slung it 
into the pumice surface, keeping hold of course to the 
end of the rope. 

249 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The bucket slowly sank through the mass, although 
in order to keep it floating he was obliged to pull the 
rope so that it would rest on its side in the mass. In 
this way he soon filled it with the ashes and brought a 
bucketful on deck. 

There were two kinds of material in the bucket; a 
lot of fine volcanic dust, and blocks or pieces of more 
or less tenacious material filled with innumerable air- 
holes. 

“ This here stuff,” said Hiram, picking up a piece of 
the solid cellular substance, “ is called pumey-stone.” 

The material was so odd-looking that Jack took a 
piece of it to the captain and asked him about it. 

“ It is a variety of lava, called pumice-stone,” re- 
plied the captain, “ so filled with air-bubbles as to be 
much lighter than water. It consists of a kind of 
volcanic glass that is much heavier than water when 
in a solid state. When, however, it is drawn out into 
fine thread-like masses it contains so many air-bubbles 
that it floats on the water. You can form some idea 
of the extent of this division when I tell you that in 
some varieties there are only one and three-quarters 
cubic inches of glass in one cubic foot of pumice- 
stone.” 

“ I understand,” said Jack, “ it’s a kind of froth 
produced in melted lava.” 

As the boys stood looking at the thick mass of pum- 
ice-stone and ashes that were floating on the sea, Jack 
remarked : 

“ If ashes fall on the land in the neighborhood of a 
250 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


volcano in large quantities it might change a fertile 
land into a desert region, is this not so, captain ? ” 

“ You are right, Jack, though only to a certain ex- 
tent,” said the captain. “ At first, the effects of a large 
fall of ashes is to render a fertile region a desert, but 
the finely divided state of the ashes permits them 
rapidly to undergo decomposition, thus producing an 
exceedingly fertile soil. Eventually, therefore, the 
region becomes much more fertile than before. Do 
you know, Jack,” he continued, “ that some of the 
wheat fields of the United States and Canada, on 
which enormous crops are raised, have a soil that is 
formed entirely of the showers of ashes that attended 
the eruption of the many extinct volcanoes that are 
found in various parts of the United States west of 
the Mississippi River? Come into the library and I’ll 
give you some facts from one of the most recent books 
that I find in the doctor’s library.” 

When they went into the cabin the captain gave them 
the following facts from a book called, “ The Volca- 
noes of North America,” by Russell. 

According to this authority heavy showers of vol- 
canic dust have fallen during geological times for the 
greater part shortly before the appearance of man on 
the earth. Some of these, however, were coeval with 
man. Such deposits cover enormous areas in Mon- 
tana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. These de- 
posits in Nebraska in some portions reach a great depth 
of fifty feet. 

Somewhat similar deposits occur in portions of 
251 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


California and Nevada, as well as in parts of Oregon 
and Washington. In the latter region a fine deposit of 
pure white volcanic dust covers an area of at least ten 
thousand square miles in southeastern Washington and 
the adjoining States. 

“ Besides the above/’ he continued, “ similar ash 
showers have covered portions of Alaska and Canada. 
Some of these occurred within historical times. 

“ One of the most remarkable deposits of volcanic 
dust was examined by Hayes in 1881. It appears from 
this examination, as well as from subsequent surveys, 
that an area of fully fifty-two thousand two hundred 
and eighty square miles was covered by the deposit of 
volcanic dust, varying from two inches in depth on its 
northwestern border to between seventy-five and a 
hundred feet near its southwestern border. It is a 
curious fact, that the locality of the volcano from which 
this dust was derived is not yet known. It appears 
probable, however, that it was situated in a region 
about seventy-five miles northwest of Mount St. Elias.” 

As the captain had predicted, the next few days, 
which happened to be clear, were characterized by 
beautiful sunsets and sunrises and blood-red suns. 


252 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XIX 
Castor and Pollux 

The brig was now drifting lazily in the waters of the 
North Pacific, south of the Tropic of Cancer. Many 
weeks had passed since the seaquake and the explosive 
volcanic eruption in one of the Aleutian Islands. 
Every day was taking them farther and farther south. 

Both the captain and Hiram, who had feared that 
the brig would drift into the Sargasso Sea of the 
North Pacific, were greatly pleased to have escaped 
this danger. 

“ Well, Hiram,” exclaimed the captain, “ there is 
no longer any danger of our drifting into the Sargasso 
Sea.” 

“ There beant, cap’in,” was the reply, “ and I’m 
wery glad fer it.” 

Harold was not glad, but did not say anything. 

Had they been left entirely to the North Equatorial 
Current of the Pacific they would have continued drift- 
ing to the west and might eventually have been drawn 
into the center of the Sargasso Sea, but about this time 
they encountered a number of storms which, together 
with the Northeast Trades, carried them out of their 
course into the Equatorial Counter Current of the 
Pacific, and eventually into the regions in the imme- 
diate neighborhood of the Equator. 

253 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 

Their passage through the Northeast Trade zone was 
not an entirely novel experience to the boys. They 
had already passed through this zone while the Ketrel 
was in the waters of the North Atlantic, and through 
the similar zone of the Southeast Trades while passing 
through the South Atlantic. But like all people ac- 
customed to living in such climates as England, where 
the wind seldom continues to blow in the same direc- 
tion for any considerable time, and where the climate 
frequently changes with great rapidity during a single 
day, they were surprised to find in the zone of the 
Northeast Trades, which the brig had now entered, 
that the wind continued to blow constantly day and 
night from the northeast. 

There is an agreeable freshness in the air of the 
Trade Winds due to its comparative dryness. Although 
in these regions the air is laden with moisture, yet it 
is relatively dry ; for, blowing as it does toward 
the Equator, its temperature, and consequently its 
capacity for moisture, are constantly increasing. It 
therefore seldom reaches even the neighborhood of its 
dew-point, or its point of saturation. The air takes 
rather than gives moisture to the objects against which 
it blows, and therefore produces an agreeable sensa- 
tion of cooling when it blows against the body, owing 
to the rapidity with which its moisture is evaporated. 

The air on deck was so pleasant that they spent most 
of their spare time in either reading or talking under 
an awning that Hiram had rigged up over a portion 
of the stern. He had no little difficulty at first in find- 
254 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ing a suitable support for the awning as well as for 
the distress signal they always kept flying in order to 
attract the attention of passing vessels. 

Hiram had repeatedly searched among the stores 
of the brig, and through the piles of lumber in the 
hold, to see if he could not find a spare spar or mast 
with which he could rig up some kind of sail in order 
to direct the course of the vessel. Of course he knew 
that since the rudder-post had been swept away there 
would be much difficulty in rigging up a jury rudder. 
He thought, however, that if he could find a spar he 
might arrange a makeshift for steering the vessel. But 
no matter how carefully he searched, there was noth- 
ing whatever on the brig that could be employed even 
as an apology for a mast. However, after consider- 
able thought and consultation with the captain he 
constructed four posts consisting of trussed beams, 
which were erected on the middle of the deck between 
the stern and the position of the mizzen mast. These 
posts were placed ten feet apart at the four corners of 
a square, and connected securely at their tops by a 
similar trussed beam thus forming a space of ten by 
ten which afforded an agreeable shade when covered 
with a piece of sailcloth. The flagpole consisted of 
another trussed beam firmly secured to the top beams. 
On the erection of this structure, a lantern with a white 
light, as well as the distress signal originally placed 
at the end of the bowsprit, were placed. 

While the contrivance answered fairly well for the 
support of a small flag, yet it was evident that it 
255 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


would prove of but little value for carrying a sail. It 
did, however, answer admirably for the support of 
the awning which was suitably secured to the under 
surface of the horizontal beams. Since both the dog 
and the parrot insisted on being in their company 
when under the awning, Harold had attached a wooden 
perch to one of the uprights for the convenience of 
Satan. 

The brig was now again drifting nearer to the 
Equator, and a marked change was observed in the 
atmosphere. Instead of the cool, refreshing breeze 
that quickly dried everything with which it came in 
contact, the almost windless air was now damp and 
humid, and so saturated with vapor that it was unable 
even slowly to dry wet clothes. Since the human body 
is largely dependent for its loss of heat on the rapid 
evaporation of moisture from its surface, the air strik- 
ing their bodies gave no relief whatever; for being 
already as full of vapor as it could be it was unable 
to carry off the film of perspiration that constantly 
covered their bodies, and, being of an exceedingly high 
temperature, made them thoroughly uncomfortable. 
Indeed, the air of the cabin was almost intolerable, and 
often when the captain and the boys had turned in for 
the night, after standing the oppressive air as long 
as they could, they quietly went one by one to the 
upper deck, where, although very hot, the air was 
somewhat less stifling. 

The portion of the ocean through which the brig 
was now drifting is known as the doldrums, or the 
256 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


region of the equatorial calms. As you might suppose 
from the name, this part of the ocean has long peri- 
ods during which wind is almost entirely absent At 
these times the surface of the sea takes on the ap- 
pearance of a huge area of smooth glass. At times, 
however, the calm is followed by terrific winds or 
storms that often die out as rapidly as they rise. 
These storms are characterized by very high winds and 
seas, and by the presence of a very large quantity of 
free electricity in the air. The lightning is, therefore, 
much more terrific here than in the temperate regions, 
the separate flashes succeeding one another so rapidly 
that the accompanying peals of thunder, being almost 
continuous, produce a prolonged and awful roaring. 

One evening, when the vessel had been passing 
for several days through the doldrums, they found the 
air of the cabin so almost unbearable that after trying 
in vain to sleep they dressed themselves and went on 
deck. There was no moon, the heavens were partially 
covered with clouds, so that the night was quite dark. 
After sitting for about half an hour Harold, looking 
at Jack, exclaimed in surprise : 

“ Look at Jack, Uncle Arthur; look at his head. He 
seems to be on fire.” 

A glance at Jack’s head surprised the captain, al- 
though not so much as it did Harold, for there ap- 
peared arqund the lad’s head a glow of fire not unlike 
the halo of light sometimes represented by the old 
artists as surrounding the heads of the saints. It 
certainly made Jack look as if he was on fire. 

R 257 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Seeing that Jack was no little disturbed at the 
manner in which his companions were looking at him, 
the captain said: 

“ There is no reason to be alarmed, Jack. We are 
merely examining an electric discharge known as a 
brush discharge which is going on between you and 
the electricity in the air. There appears to be an un- 
usually heavy charge of electricity in the air to-night, 
and, since your body is a good electric conductor, a dis- 
charge is taking place between the air and the portion 
of your body farthest from the ground ; that is, from 
your head. In other words, Jack,” he continued laugh- 
ing, “ you are a kind of a lightning-rod, and provided 
the discharge does not take place too rapidly there 
is no danger.” 

“ Td like to see the glow,” said Jack; “ but I can’t 
very well look at my own head without a looking-glass, 
and there is none here.” 

“ Hold your hand above your head ; ” said the cap- 
tain, “ and you will probably see a discharge at the ends 
of your fingers.” 

As Jack did this the ends of his fingers assumed a 
ghastly appearance, for tongues of fire could be seen 
spreading in all directions into the air. 

As these discharges were taking place they could 
hear a somewhat musical or buzzing sound, not un- 
like the sound produced by the rapid flight of very 
small birds through the air. 

“ These sounds,” said the captain, “ are common in 
electric discharges of this character. They are due to 
258 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the fact that brush discharges are not continuous, but 
consist of a number of separate discharges following 
one another very rapidly, thus producing a more or 
less musical tone.” 

In a short time the streamings of fire appeared 
around the heads of Harold and the captain as well 
as Jack’s. 

“ These discharges are very different from those of 
a lightning flash, are they not? ” said Jack addressing 
the captain. 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ they differ greatly; for in 
a lightning flash practically all the discharge occurs 
suddenly in what is called a disruptive discharge. This 
discharge passes so rapidly through the air that it pro- 
duces a vacuum into which the surrounding air rushes 
making a thunderclap, but the discharges that are 
taking place from our heads and hands are almost con- 
stantly occurring, so the intervals between the succes- 
sive discharges are very short. Moreover, the amount 
of the electricity is comparatively small.” 

While they were sitting talking about the glow dis- 
charges of the electricity around their heads, Hiram 
came running up to the captain. He was evidently 
greatly alarmed. So the captain inquired : 

“ What’s the matter, Hiram? ” 

Hiram asking them to come from under the canvas, 
exclaimed in an excited tone : 

" A corposant is a setting on each of them posts, 
and another on the top of the flagstaff. I seed them as 
I was cornin’ out of the galley.” 

259 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Sure enough, there were still larger globes of lam- 
bent flames streaming from the points Hiram had men- 
tioned. The light was of a pale blue color, and in- 
stead of remaining quietly in the same places moved 
about, but kept generally near the tops of the vertical 
posts. 

“ I was skeered, sir/’ said Hiram to the captain, 
“ when I fust saw that globe of fire ; for there was 
only one of them, which, ez every sailor knows, means 
the wust kind of bad luck, but I felt glad when I arter- 
wards saw the hull five of them.” 

The captain smiled when he heard what Hiram had 
to say, and asked him whether he believed in the 
superstitions connected with corposants, or as he told 
the boys these things were more frequently called, St. 
Elmo’s fires. 

“ Yes,” cap’in, I believe in them sartin.” 

“ Hiram,” said Jack, “ won’t you tell me what 
sailors believe St. Elmo’s fires indicate? ” 

“ Sartin, Mr. Jack. All sailors is agreed that ’em 
lights come from bodies of speerits wot visit the ship. 
When only one light is seed it means bad luck to all 
on the wessel, but when two or more comes they brings 
the wessel good luck.” 

“ Well,” said Jack smiling, “ then since there are 
five of them on the brig that means good luck, does it 
not?” 

“ Sartin, Mr. Jack, fer this is what ye’ll find every 
sailor believes.” 

“ And,” inquired Harold mischievously, “ since be- 
260 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sides the five you see on the posts there is another on 
the bowsprit, then that means still better luck.” 

“ That’s true, Mr. Harold,” said Hiram in a satisfied 
tone. 

“ And,” continued Harold, “ you may add to the six 
four others.” 

“Where be they?” inquired Hiram, looking in 
every direction but the right one. 

“ Well,” said the lad, “ if you will look at our heads 
you will see a St. Elmo’s fire on each of them.” 

Hiram’s attention being drawn to this he had no 
difficulty in observing the faint glow that was still 
playing around the heads of his companions. There 
was something in the appearance that Hiram evidently 
regarded as being especially awful, for his face took 
on a horrified expression at which all of his companions 
could not restrain from laughing aloud. 

" What alarms you, Hiram? ” inquired Jack. 

“ It is the ghost lights or the corposants that I see 
gleaming on your heads,” he replied. 

“ Is it a bad sign ? ” inquired Harold. 

“ Oh, the wust kind of a sign,” he replied. “ Gen- 
erally when them things is seed over a man’s head it 
means he’s goin’ to die soon.” 

“ Then look out, Hiram,” exclaimed Jack mischiev- 
ously, “ if that is so, your time is come, for there is a 
big one that is settling down on your head.” 

When Hiram heard what Jack had said he evidently 
became very greatly alarmed, but believing that the 
lad was only teasing him he said : 

261 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ I don’t believe it, Mr. Jack. You’re a foolin’ me.” 

“ Then hold your hand before your nose,” said Jack, 
“ and look at it.” 

As Hiram did this the ghostly flame could be seen 
passing between the nose and the finger. 

“ I fear my time hez come,” he remarked in a horri- 
fied tone. 

“ Now, Hiram,” said the captain, “ I’m surprised 
that so bright a man should believe such nonsense. 
What is generally believed by the sailors when more 
than two of these ghost lights appear at the same 
time?” 

“ That good luck has come to the ship,” replied 
Hiram. 

“ Well,” said the captain, “ and here we have six 
of these lights on different parts of the brig. That 
ought to be six pieces of good luck. Now surely, 
Hiram, six pieces of good luck should be able to beat 
the four pieces of bad luck from the ghost light appear- 
ing over each of us. Should it not ? ” 

This explanation, ridiculous as it was, appeared en- 
tirely to satisfy Hiram. 

“ Yes, cap’in,” he replied, “ I kain’t deny that. 
Them’s what I call mathematics, and mathematics is 
mathematics for sartin.” 

They stood on the deck watching the electrical dis- 
play for half an hour or longer. The amount of free 
electricity in the air was so great that the ghost lights 
were sometimes seen playing over the crest of the 
waves. Hiram, who had by this time regained his 
262 





Wrnm 


“ They stood 
electrical 


on the deck watching the 
display ” 

Pa£<? i’di* 










FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


courage, said that sailors always believed that lights 
playing on the water only appeared over places where 
people had been drowned. 

“ Hiram,” inquired the captain, “ have you ever 
heard of Castor and Pollux ? ” 

“ Often, sir,” was the reply. 

“ Then tell the story to the boys ; Fm sure they would 
like to hear it.” 

“ Sartinly,” was the reply. “ Castor and Pollux, my 
lads,” he said, “ is the name wot sailors give when two 
of them corposants or ghost lights come on board a 
wessel. When two appear they alius bring the wessel 
good luck, and ef it so be that thar is a storm at 
thet time it means that the storm will soon break and 
nary one be injured. But ef only one be seed, then look 
out fer bad luck, fer it means that some harm will come 
to the wessel.” 

“ Can you tell us anything about these strange lights, 
uncle ? ” inquired Harold. 

“ Yes, come down into the cabin and I will read to 
you some of the things I was reading the other day. 
Come with us, Hiram, there’s nothing you can do here, 
and I will read to you some things from the books of 
the doctor about these lights.” 

When they reached the library he opened one of the 
books and said : 

“ Here’s what Erasmus, one of the noted Christian 
writers, had to say about these appearances: 

“ ‘ A certain ball of fire began to stand by the mast 
which is the worst sign in the world to sailors if it 
263 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


be single, but a good sign if it be double. The ancients 
believed it to be Castor and Pollux. By and by the 
faint light glided down the rope and rolled over close 
to the pilot; it stopped and then rolled itself round 
the sides of the ship, and afterward slipping through 
the hatches vanished away.’ ” 

“Who were Castor and Pollux, Uncle Arthur?” 
inquired Harold. 

“ Castor and Pollux,” answered the captain, “ were 
two demigods said to be the sons of Jupiter. It is said 
that after their death Jupiter changed the brothers 
into stars in the constellation known as the Gemini 
or the Twins. These imaginary beings were worshiped 
by the sailors as their protectors. Of course, Harold,” 
he said, “you understand that there is no truth in 
these stories of mythology.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Harold, “ I understand that, uncle.” 

Opening another book the captain said : 

“ See here, Hiram ; here is a much later book, pub- 
lished during the year 1598.” 

“ Do ye call thet a later book, cap’in ? ” inquired 
Hiram. 

“ Oh, yes,” was the reply, “ more than sixteen hun- 
dred years later; for the story of Castor and Pollux 
was believed in by the ancients many years before the 
birth of Christ. But listen, Hiram, to what this man 
says in 1598,” and he then read the following: 

“ ‘ I do remember that in the great and boisterous 
storm of this foul weather, and in the night, there 
came on the toppe of the maine yard and maine mast 
264 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


a certain little light much like the light of a little candle. 
The sailors call it the Suerpo Santo. This light shone 
on our ship for about three hours, flying from maste to 
maste and from the toppe to the bottom.’ 

“ Jack,” continued the captain, picking up another 
book ; “ listen to what Macaulay says about these 
lights : 

“ Safe comes the ship to haven, 

Through billows and through gales; 

If once the great twin brothers, 

Sit shining on its sails. 

“ The twin brothers,” he added, “ being of course 
Castor and Pollux.” 


265 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XX 

The Sargasso Sea of the North Pacific 

They were now drifting toward the west in the South 
Equatorial Current of the Pacific almost under the 
Equator in longitude 120 0 W., the Equatorial Counter 
Current having carried them a considerable distance 
toward the east. The fact that they had failed to 
drift into the Sargasso Sea of the North Pacific had, 
as already suggested, greatly disappointed Harold, 
who had heard so much concerning the mysteries of 
this part of the ocean that he had hoped to see some- 
thing of it. 

One day while they were all together Harold re- 
marked to Jack: 

“ I am awfully sorry we did not get into the Sar- 
gasso Sea of the North Pacific.” 

Harold’s remark appeared to greatly tickle Hiram, 
who began to chuckle. 

“ Perhaps, Mr. Harold,” he said, “ you’d get to see 
more of that thar sea than would please ye.” 

“ Why do you say that, Hiram? ” inquired Jack. 

“ Well, Mr. Jack, I’ll tell ye. I’ve often heerd some 
of my messmates say that when a wessel gits into the 
middle of that sea she stands a mighty good chance of 
staying ther fer good. I ain’t sartin of the truth of 
this, not having seed it myself, but them wot spun them 
266 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


yarns to me were keerful men who generally knew 
what they were talkin’ about. Kain’t ye tell us so’thing 
about the Sargasso Sea, cap’in ? ” he asked. 

“ I have not been in any of these seas, Hiram,” was 
the reply, “ but I understand from others and from 
my reading, that as a rule, the center of this region is 
free from wind, and that the floating objects such a&; 
seaweed, trunks of trees, and wreckage from vessels 
collect in this region. That toward its center the 
amount of this floating stuff is very great. I can 
understand, therefore, that if a vessel once gets well 
in toward the center she might remain there indefi- 
nitely. This region is visited by winds at times so that 
the vessels might eventually escape unless, of course, 
the weeds and other floating objects collected in such 
a tangled mass as -to prevent the vessel from getting 
out even with a strong wind.” 

“ A steamer would be the kind of vessel for such a 
region, would it not, uncle ? ” asked Harold. 

“ As far as the danger from calms is concerned,” 
was the reply, “ a steamer would be all right, and yet 
I think a steamer would have a still poorer show than 
a ship for forcing its way through a tangled mass of 
weeds ; for you see, Harold,” he continued, “ the turn- 
ing of the screw would wrap the seaweed firmly around 
the propeller shaft. In a short time, therefore, the 
tangled mass of weeds would prevent the screw from 
continuing to turn even under the full power of the 
engines.” 

“ Still, uncle,” persisted Harold, “ I suppose you 
267 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


would not have cared if we had got a little way into the 
Sargasso Sea, since there are so many strange things 
to see there.” 

“ I would not like it at all,” said the captain. “ If 
what I have read or heard about the Sargasso Sea be 
true, it would be far from safe for the brig to be drawn 
into it. Such a region is a sort of betwixt and between. 
It is neither firm enough to walk upon nor liquid 
enough to sail or steam through. If such a region is 
dangerous with a vessel provided with sails or steam 
power, how much more dangerous it would be to our 
brig, with no means for self-propulsion. I fear, there- 
fore, had we been drawn toward the center of this sea 
we might be detained there until all our provisions were 
consumed so that we would perish from hunger. No, 
Harold,” he continued, “ I am very glad the brig has 
escaped finding its way into the Sargasso Sea.” 

“ And so says Hiram Higgenbotham,” exclaimed the 
boatswain. “ The open water for me.” 

Whether it was the unusual quantity of free elec- 
tricity in the atmosphere when so many corposants or 
St. Elmo’s fires were seen on the brig, yet the day 
following the barometer began to fall rapidly, thus in- 
dicating the approach of stormy weather. 

Hiram, who had first observed this fall of the barom- 
eter, reporting it to the captain, said : 

“ I reckon we may look out for a big wind.” 

“ Yes, Hiram, I think there is no doubt but that a 
storm is coming, so let’s close the hatches and the 
porthole lights before it reaches us.” 

268 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


This was soon done and they all remained on deck 
watching the coming storm. The air was wonderfully 
clear all around them except in one direction. Toward 
the southeast, however, there appeared a thin mass 
of dim haze far off on the horizon. Hiram, pointing 
this out to the captain, remarked : 

“ Thar’s the quarter from which the storm’ll come.* 
See, a fog is beginning to settle down. I allow there’ll 
be a sight of wind behind that fog.” 

While Hiram was speaking the haze in the far south- 
east was seen to approach and in a little while began to 
settle down all around them. The mass of clouds could 
now be seen rapidly approaching from the southeast, 
and in a little while it reached the brig obscuring 
everything. A strong wind from the southeast set in 
and, increasing rapidly in strength, blew against the 
water so furiously as to lash its surface into masses 
of foam some of which, carried by the wind to the 
deck of the brig, soon covered it with white masses. 

The strong wind reached the brig so quickly that be- 
fore it could swing round so as to receive it on its 
stern it was struck amidships and was blown over so 
much that they feared it would capsize. Fortunately, 
however, the water-logged vessel was so deep in the 
water that capsizing was almost impossible. In a little 
while to our great relief the brig righted and, receiv- 
ing the wind at her stern, was borne rapidly toward the 
northwest at a speed that the captain estimated as high 
as fifteen or twenty miles an hour. The righting of 
the brig, however, did not occur until several huge 
269 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


waves had swept the deck and nearly carried them 
overboard. As it was, the awning and the flag-pole 
with the built-up beams were swept overboard, partially 
wrecking the charthouse. 

The fierce wind continued for many days to carry the 
brig generally to the northwest. The storm did not 
continue in all its strength during this time, but the 
heavens remained clouded so that it was impossible to 
get an observation to determine their exact position. 
Moreover, the wind varied both in direction and ve- 
locity. At last, however, the sky began to clear and 
the sun shone brightly on the waters. 

But it was a very different sight that gradually un- 
folded itself in the coming sunlight. Instead of seeing 
the open sea with only an occasional patch of yellow 
weed, they were literally surrounded by great floating 
masses of the weed. These masses resembled floating 
islands and covered areas varying from one to many 
acres in extent. The weed was of a deep yellow color 
that contrasted strongly with the deep blue of the 
waters. 

An observation taken by the captain showed the 
brig to be in latitude 24 0 N., longitude 143 0 W. from 
j Greenwich. 

“ Well, Hiram,” said the captain, “ we have been 
blown so far to the northwest that we are now in the 
Sargasso Sea of the North Pacific after all.” 

“ I hope we’re not in the center of that sea,” ex- 
claimed Jack, remembering what the captain said 
about the danger of getting in the center of the great 
270 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


mass. “ Do you think we are near the center, cap- 
tain ? ” he continued. 

“ I don’t know,” was the reply; “ from the appear- 
ance of things I think we are only on the edge. 
Since, however, we are at the mercy of the currents 
there is a great danger of our being gradually carried 
by the great eddy nearer and nearer to the center. 
We may, therefore, be unable to escape it,” and then 
fearing that what he had said would alarm the boys he 
added : “ But let us hope for the best.” 

“ That’s right, cap’in,” said Hiram, “ and don’t let’s 
fergit that we air lucky to git here at all. I hev seed 
much stronger wessels than the brig that could not 
weather sech a storm as that wot brought us here. 
I am thinking, sir,” he said turning to the captain, 
“ that it might perhaps be well to look over the wessel 
and see if any of her seams has started.” 

To their satisfaction a careful examination showed 
the height of the water in the lower hold had not 
changed and, that as far as they could see, the 
storm had not injured the brig. She looked as if it 
would still be a long time before, although water- 
logged as she was, she would sink to the bottom and 
disappear. 

On going to the cabin they found their position was 
probably about three or four hundred miles from the 
center of the region marked Sargasso Sea. 

“In what direction is the brig heading, Hiram?” 
asked the captain. 

“ Due west,” was the reply. 

271 


P t> if# J@j; / 5 jncd biff fit j/? p I? e/fet /)) 

FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


W k ) /V 

“ Let’s find her speed.” So they cast the log and 
C found that they were drifting at the rate of about a 
^^icnoTan hour. 

“ We are going much slower than before the storm,” 
said Jack when he had heard from the captain the 
speed at which they were now moving. “ That’s pretty 
slow, but perhaps our speed will increase before long.”! 

“ I’m afraid not,” was the reply. 

As Jack could see, the captain, as well as Hiram, was 
greatly worried by their position. They were care- 
fully watching the direction in which the brig was 
heading by observations every now and then. These 
directions were generally as follows : W. ; W. N. W. ; 

N. W. ; N. N. W. ; N. ; N. N. E. ; N. E. ; E. N. E. ; 

E. ; E. S. E. ; S., etc. In other words, the brig was 
moving in a circular path. Seeing that the results of 
these observations increased the anxiety of both the 
captain and Hiram, Jack asked, turning to the captain, 
whether there was much cause for worrying. 

“ Why, don’t you see, Jack,” was the reply, “ that 
the brig has been caught in a vast whirl or eddy which 
is gradually drawing us toward the center of the Sar- 
gasso Sea; that is, taking us just where we feared it 
might.” ~ 1 

“ Still, captain,” said Jack, “ we have more food on 
the brig than we could eat in a year.” 

“ I know, Jack, but we might spend more than a 
year in this district.” 

“ Does our supply of fresh water worry you ? ” 
asked Jack. 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ No, I am not worrying much about that ; for, as 
you know, we have heavy rains here, so that with the 
arrangement of tubes Hiram has made there would be 
no difficulty in keeping our water-tanks filled.” 

“ Do you think it necessary to put ourselves on 
short rations so as to make our food supply last 
longer?” 

“ There is hardly any necessity for that at present,” 
was the reply ; “ but still I think it might be well to 
see what we can do toward increasing our food supply 
by fishing.” 

It was evident from the captain's remark that he 
regarded the outlook as threatening. Unwilling, how- 
ever, to cause needless anxiety, he turned to Jack and 
Harold, and said in as cheerful a voice as he could 
assume : 

“ Here we are in the Sargasso Sea in the North 
Pacific, slowly drifting toward its center. We will take 
care to husband our food supplies, to keep our water- 
tanks filled, and keep on the outlook so as to lose no 
chances of escape. As for the rest, since it would be 
foolish to bewail our fate, I suggest that we take ad- 
vantage of the opportunities that we now have for 
studying the wonders of this region. There is much 
to be learned here that has probably never before been 
carefully studied. We’ll make notes of what we learn, 
and should we escape I will be able greatly to improve, 
the doctor’s manuscript as to what can be seen in the 
middle of the Sargasso Sea. Now I want you all to 
help in this work and make notes of what you see.” 
s 273 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ We’ll help you, captain,” said both boys, “ and 
jolly fun it’ll be too.” 

“ But fust of all,” said Hiram, “ I want you all to 
help me in fixing up the charthouse and patching the 
railing or some of us will be falling overboard.” 

The necessary repairs were completed in a few days. 

Before beginning their regular observations the cap- 
tain told the boys just what he wished them to observe. 
This was as follows: The kind and amount of sea- 
weed; whether it is loosely spread out on the water 
or closely packed together; whether it covered the 
entire surface or was only collected in patches; the 
thickness of the weed, or whether it only lay on the 
surface or had collected in masses extending for con- 
siderable distances below the surface. 

“ But what I would especially desire,” he added, “ is 
that you should carefully observe the kind of animal 
life that finds its home in the seaweed.” 

“ Hiram,” said Jack as he listened to the work that 
was laid out for them, “ since we can’t examine the 
weed while it is in the water, won’t you make us some 
contrivance by which we can take the weed out of the 
water and bring it on deck where we can study it? ” 

This request of Jack’s greatly pleased Hiram, for 
he was not only greatly attached to Jack but was es- 
pecially happy when he was inventing just such con- 
trivances as Jack had asked for. So far as making a 
simple drag for bringing on deck whatever was lying 
on the surface the task was an easy one, but when Jack 
explained that what he desired was to be able to select 
274 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the weed from the particular part of a mass and bring 
it on deck, Hiram found the problem filled with diffi- 
culties. He was an ingenious fellow, however, and 
continued working at it until he produced something 
that in most cases did the work Jack desired. Of 
course, however, in the case of every tangled and 
thick masses of weed its working was only partially 
satisfactory. 

Frequent measurements of the speed of the brig by 
the log showed that the current was gradually de- 
creasing in velocity, until at last their progress was so 
slow that they did not hesitate, when the weather was 
clear, to make short excursions around the brig in the 
life-boat. They were careful, however, in all such 
cases not only to keep a plentiful supply of food and 
drink on the boat, but never to leave the brig without at 
least two of their number on board. 


275 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXI 

The Graveyard of the Sea 

During the next five days frequent observations as 
to their direction showed that they were still slowly 
drifting in a huge circle, around an area the captain 
roughly estimated at about twenty-five miles in diame- 
ter. Measurements with the log showed that their 
speed was decreasing. Slowly but surely they were 
being drawn toward the center of the region all 
sailors dread. Without, however, foolishly worrying 
at what was beyond their power to prevent, they de- 
termined, while keeping ever on the alert, to take ad- 
vantage of whatever chances to escape might present 
themselves, and to spend their time in observations of 
the peculiarities of the region through which they 
were slowly moving. 

There was one conclusion they soon reached and 
that was that the Sargasso Sea of the North Pa- 
cific, at least as far as the portion they actually ob- 
served was concerned, differed markedly from the 
Sargasso Sea of the North Atlantic, as it existed ac- 
cording to the statements of those who claim to have 
actually visited it. In the first place, instead of the 
entire area being covered by a continuous mass of 
floating seaweed that completely shut out the sight of 
276 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the water, only irregularly shaped areas were covered, 
in which the weed floated like islands. It is true that 
some of these islands were so extensive that they might 
properly have been termed, as suggested by Humboldt, 
“ sea meadows,” but still there were large areas of the 
ocean entirely free from the floating weeds. 

Harold who, as is well known, was an inquisitive 
lad, one day asked the captain the meaning of the 
word Sargasso Sea. 

“ The Sargasso Sea,” was the reply, “ takes its name 
from a Portuguese word meaning “the. sea of little 
grapes,” in reference to the rounded air vesicles dis- 
tributed through the weed. This name Sargasso Sea 
was applied to the sea through which Columbus was 
the first to sail during his voyage across the North 
Atlantic, and was afterward given to similar seas in 
the other oceans.” 

Another fact they soon discovered was that while 
unquestionably much of the weed was brought to the 
region by the ocean currents, a considerable portion 
grew while floating in the water ; for much of the weed 
they saw was of recent growth. 

While the color of the seaweed varied both with its 
age and character yet, taken as a whole, the weeds 
were of a magnificent golden olive color. Owing, 
however, to the fact that large portions of the surfaces 
of the weed were covered with a whitish layer of 
zoophytes, the general color was that of golden yellow 
which contrasted markedly with the deep blue color 
of the waters on which it was floating. 

277 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


One day, Jack, who had of late displayed consider- 
able ability as an observer of natural phenomena, ob- 
served that the seaweed appeared of a much deeper 
yellow when surrounded by the blue water than it did 
when lying on the deck of the brig. Desiring to know 
whether he was mistaken in this belief, he said to the 
captain : 

“ Captain, the weed seems to me to be of a much 
deeper yellow while floating in the ocean than when 
lying on deck. I have been wondering whether I have 
been deceiving myself in this belief. I think, however, 
that I have not. Can you help me in this matter ? ” 

“ You are quite right, Jack,” was the reply. “ It is 
a well-known fact that complementary colors when 
placed alongside of each other have the depth of their 
color greatly increased by contrast. Now blue and 
yellow are complementary colors, so that if you ob- 
serve a piece of yellow seaweed surrounded by deep 
blue water, the blue water makes the yellow weed 
look yellower, and the yellow weed makes the blue 
water look bluer than it otherwise would.” And then 
seeing that Jack was puzzled, he said : “ Come into the 
cabin and I will show you a simple experiment that 
will help you understand this. Come, Harold,” he 
said, addressing his nephew, “ I’m sure these experi- 
ments will interest you.” 

On reaching the cabin the captain selected a number 
of disks of different colored paper the doctor had em- 
ployed in certain experiments he had been making. 
He picked up a disk of deep blue paper and, placing it 
278 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in the middle of a good-sized piece of black cloth, said 
to the boys : 

“ Now, boys, the experiment I want to show you 
will depend on your doing exactly what I ask you to 
do. I wish you to keep your eyes fixed on the center 
of the blue disk. Try not to let them wander from it.” 

The captain’s request appeared greatly to tickle 
Harold who said to Jack: 

“ Jack, I’ll bet I can keep my eyes on the blue paper 
longer than you can.” 

“ All right, Harold,” was the reply ; “ but if you 
do you will have to look out for I intend to try to see 
what the captain wants us to be able to see.” 

After the boys had looked steadily at the middle 
of the blue disk for fully two minutes the captain said : 

“ Now keep your eyes in the same direction. I 
am going to place a sheet of white paper, so as to 
cover both the blue disk and the black cloth. Now 
what you are looking at is only a sheet of white paper. 
Tell me what you see at its center.” 

“ I see a deep yellow disk,” said Jack in surprise. 

“ And so do I,” said Harold. 

“ And yet,” said the captain, “ you are looking at a 
perfectly white sheet of paper. It is evident, there- 
fore, that by steadily looking at a blue color the eye 
becomes filled as it were with a light of the comple- 
mentary color to the blue, that is, with yellow. Now,” 
he added, “ rest your eyes for a moment and I will ar- 
range another experiment. Shut your eyes,” he added, 
“ that will rest them more rapidly.” 

279 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


When the boys opened their eyes they found the 
piece of black cloth again spread out before them and 
in the middle of it a disk of colored paper. This time, 
however, it was a deep orange or yellow disk. 

“ Now,” said the captain, “ keep your eyes on the 
middle of this disk as you did before.” 

The boys did so, and at the end of two minutes, 
when a sheet of white paper was suddenly placed over 
the black cloth, the white surface appeared to have a 
deep blue disk at its center. 

“ That’s certainly a very odd trick,” said Harold. 

“ You mean a splendid experiment,” indignantly 
remarked jack. 

“ You can understand, Jack,” said the captain, 
“ that when you look at the orange-yellow weed float- 
ing on the deep blue water, each color tends to make 
the other color look of a deeper color; that is, the 
yellow weed makes the blue water look bluer, while 
the blue water gives to the yellow weed a more pro- 
nounced yellow color. You are, therefore, quite right 
in your belief that the weed is of a more pronounced 
color when floating on the surface of the blue water 
than when resting on the deck.” 

But the floating masses of seaweed were not by any 
means the only objects of interest to be seen. Every 
mass of seaweed formed the home of a great variety 
of different kinds of animal life. At first the boys 
thought that there was no animal life whatever among 
the weeds. Although the weeds were swarming with 
different kinds of life, such as various forms of small 
280 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


fishes, crustaceans, shellfish, zoophytes, and a great 
variety of worm-shaped animals, yet their colors were 
so exactly the same as that of the seaweed, near or on 
which they remained, that they did not see them until 
attention wSs directed to them. 

This close similarity in colors between the animals 
and the weeds greatly interested the boys, especially 
Jack. He therefore inquired of the captain whether 
this resemblance was a mere accident or whether it 
was something to be expected in accordance with some 
general law. 

“ There can be no doubt, Jack,” replied the captain, 
“ that the animals have acquired the same color as 
that of the weeds on which they live as the result of a 
general law, called by Mr. Charles Darwin, ‘ The sur- 
vival of the fittest.’ The waters of the ocean and the 
atmosphere are both so clear in this part of the world, 
that if these animals had colors that would permit them 
to be readily distinguished from the color of the me- 
dium in which they live, very few of them could escape 
the keen-eyed fish in the waters below, or the equally 
far-seeing birds in the air above from rapidly devour- 
ing them. Darwin contends, and his contention would 
appear to be reasonable, that in this way the animals 
that survive the attacks of their enemies are those 
that were fittest to survive, or in other words, are 
those whose general color most closely resembled the 
color of the seaweed on or near which they live. 
Now, since as you probably know, there is a tendency 
of the young of all animals more or less closely to 
281 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


resemble their parents, there would in this way be pro- 
duced the races of the seaweed-colored animals. Sir 
Wyville Thomson, the noted English naturalist, who 
spent considerable time in studying the animals in the 
Sargasso Sea of the North Atlantic says, as regards 
these colors : 

“ ‘ I know of no more perfect example of protective 
resemblance than that which was shown by the gulf- 
weed fauna.’ ” 

The boys spent many pleasant hours in watching 
the habits of the different animals that lived both on 
the seaweed and in the waters surrounding it. Ap- 
parently all these animals spent their lives in eating 
other animals and ended them by being eaten, for the 
boys soon discovered that no matter what animals 
they studied there always appeared to be some larger 
animal ready to devour them. 

“ Jack,” said Harold one day as they sat in the 
stern of the life-boat watching the animals, “ I’m glad 
we are not like the animals on the seaweed who have 
to take such care not to be gobbled up.” 

“ I don’t know,” said Jack laughing.. “ I think if 
you and I were to fall in the water here we would soon 
find that we didn’t differ much from these animals; 
for look,” he said, pointing to an immense shark 
that was swimming lazily in the water about ten feet 
below the surface, “ it wouldn’t take long for that 
fellow to gobble us up.” 

It is impossible for want of space to give an ac- 
count of all the curious animals they observed in the 
282 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


seaweed. A few, however, were so odd that we will 
take time to give a short description of them. Among 
the animals that especially attracted their attention was 
a small-tailed crab that could be seen in great numbers 
resting on the weeds. These little animals appeared 
to be thoroughly aware of the fact that safety from 
their enemies consisted in their resting on something 
whose color was the same as the color of their bodies ; 
for whenever the boys detached them from the sea- 
weed, which they frequently did in order to observe 
their behavior, they appeared greatly alarmed and 
scurried back to the seaweed, nor did they appear to 
be satisfied until they had assumed such a position on 
the weed as would make it difficult to distinguish 
them. 

It must not be supposed, however, that all the sea- 
weed floated nearly at the surface of the water with 
each piece separate and distinct from the neighbor- 
ing pieces. In many places it had been more or less 
closely matted together from various causes. Indeed, 
this collection of the matted material was so great that 
in places the weeds had sunk a few feet below the sur- 
face of the water. 

One day, while examining a mass of seaweed, the 
boys saw an exceedingly curious-looking object. Al- 
though having once seen it, they found that it was 
much commoner than they had at first supposed. This 
was a mass of matted weed in the form of a rounded 
ball that appeared to have been purposely formed by 
animal, for the separate weeds in the ball had 
283 


some 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


been neatly stitched or sewn together by long jelly-like 
threads that possessed considerable tenacity. On 
showing one of these balls to the captain they were 
surprised when he told them that they were the nests 
of certain species of fishes that deposited their eggs 
inside. 

One day, to their great delight, the boys found an 
odd-looking fish at work making a nest. It was so 
curious-looking that they had no difficulty in dis- 
tinguishing it from the many other fish that swam 
in the waters in which the seaweed was floating. Its 
head was quite large in proportion to the size of its 
body, so that it presented a most grotesque appearance. 
It was exceedingly ugly, had a most prodigious appe- 
tite, and devoured its food as if almost starving. 

„ Another odd animal found living in the seaweed was 
a curious variety of transparent shrimp closely re- 
sembling the insect known as the mantis, or praying 
insect, from the queer way in which it holds its front 
legs as if it were saying its prayers. This little shrimp 
was furnished with most wonderful eyes, since each 
of the little facets of which the eyes were composed 
emitted in the dark a brilliant green-colored light as 
if the separate lenses of the eye had been made of small 
emeralds. 

But it was not only seaweed that formed the floating 
objects that had collected on the surface of the waters. 
As they drew nearer to the center of the Sargasso Sea 
they found a much greater proportion of the area 
covered by the floating weed, so that at times the brig 
284 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


would remain for hours slowly drifting through a 
mass of weed extending in all directions as far as the 
eye could see. But in addition to the seaweed they 
could occasionally see floating fragments of wreckage 
of all kinds. 

One day Hiram was greatly excited by seeing 
through his glasses at the distance of about half a mile 
from the brig the masts of a ship and several spars 
floating on the water. It will be remembered that 
Hiram for a long while looked in vain through the 
stores of the brig for something that could serve as a 
mast for the brig. When, therefore, he saw in the 
water ahead of the brig two masts and several spars, 
apparently in good condition, he became greatly excited 
and said to the captain : 

“ We’ll be fixed all right, cap’in, ef we kin git them 
masts and spars.” 

“ All right, Hiram,” replied the captain, “ we ap- 
pear to be drifting directly toward them.” 

In due time the brig reached the wreckage and 
Hiram succeeded, to his great delight, in getting the 
masts and spars and placing them on the deck of the 
brig. 

“ Now,” he remarked to the captain, “ we must find 
time to rig up these masts for our brig, so thet, should 
the wind blow, we kin at least try to git out of this 
here place.” 

As the brig drifted nearer to the center of the Sar- 
gasso Sea different kinds of wreckage from vessels 
came more frequently in sight. On several occasions 
285 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


they saw a number of derelicts in the distance. Not 
any of these were in the direction in which they were 
drifting, and all were too far off to warrant their 
making any effort to reach them in the life-boat. 

At last, however, they saw a derelict on the part of 
the horizon toward which they were drifting. The, 
captain and Hiram at once began examining it with 
their glasses. 

“ A wery old wessel,” said Hiram to the captain. 
“ I allow she hez more portholes than a peaceable 
wessel would need.” 

“ You are right,” was the reply. “ I can count three 
rows of six portholes each, on the side turned toward 
us. As she probably has the same number on the 
other side she must have been very heavily armed.” 

“ It ’pears as though she warn’t an everyday peace- 
able wessel.” 

“ No, Hiram,” was the reply, “ she was possibly a 
pirate.” 

After several hours they drew sufficiently near the 
derelict to clearly discern her different parts. Jack, 
to whom the captain had handed his glasses, had been 
examining the vessel for some time after the captain 
and Hiram had temporarily ceased to look, and sud- 
denly exclaimed : 

“ Captain, I think I can see the mouths of cannons 
through some of the portholes, and, if I am not greatly 
mistaken, there are several skeletons lying on the 
deck.” 

“ O uncle, I do hope that we can go on board that 
286 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


derelict,” said Harold. “ Do you intend to try to board 
her?” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ if we come near enough, 
and it seems that there is anything worth examining. 
She lies directly in the path in which we are drifting, 
so that I do not think there will be any difficulty in 
boarding her.” 

As they drew nearer they could distinctly see, lying 
on the deck, the skeletons that Jack had referred to. 
Although the masts and some of the spars were still 
in place yet they appeared to have been damaged, as 
if the ship had been in action and cannon-balls had 
struck them. Indeed, one of the masts had been nearly 
cut in two by a cannon-ball, and the upper portions 
were still hanging on the deck with a few remnants 
of rotting sails clinging to the spars. They could now 
see too, that there were cannon in front of each of the 
portholes. The timbers of the deck had apparently 
partially rotted away, while the sides of the vessel 
were almost completely concealed by a covering of 
barnacles. 

“ Captain,” exclaimed Jack, “ that vessel looks if it 
had been floating for many, many years. It appears 
also to have been considerably damaged. I cannot 
understand how a vessel in such a condition could 
have remained so long a time afloat. I should think 
she would have sunk long ago.” 

“ One would certainly imagine that, Jack,” was the 
reply. “ I know that most vessels in the condition of 
the one we see before us would have disappeared be- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


neath the waters almost immediately but, on the other 
hand, there are vessels such, for example, as our 
brig, that, both from the character of the cargo as 
well as from the presence of carefully constructed 
air-tight compartments, may remain floating for 
many years after being wrecked. Then again, in a 
region like the Sargasso Sea, where storms seldom 
occur, her chances for remaining afloat would of 
course be greatly increased.” 

They were now almost alongside the derelict, so 
that there was no difficulty whatever in boarding her. 
Moreover, the two vessels though drifting very slowly 
were drifting in the same direction, so that there would 
be very little chance of their soon becoming widely 
separated. 

“ I think we had better go aboard,” said the captain. 

“ Hiram, I’ll remain aboard the brig while you board 
her with the two boys, or, if you prefer, I will go with 
the boys and will afterward come back and give you a 
chance of examining her.” 

“ I'll stay here, sir,” was the reply, “ so that you kin 
go aboard with the lads.” 

The captain and the boys were soon on the derelict. 
On reaching the deck they found the timbers so 
rotten that their feet sank into the wood for some 
little distance. There were nearly a dozen skeletons 
lying on different parts of the deck where they had 
apparently fallen when killed during the engagement. 
So long a time had elapsed, however, since death had 
overtaken them that their bones remained only partially 
288 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


covered with a few remnants of rotting clothes. Fairly 
large-sized guns of gun-metal were standing before the 
portholes on the three decks, and on two lower decks 
skeletons were also found, though not so many as on 
the upper deck. The guns were in good condition ex- 
cept that they were coated with a greenish substance 
produced by the rusting of the gun-metal. 

“ It looks,” said the captain, “ as if this vessel was 
a pirate and was destroyed while fighting with another 
vessel. But whether that vessel was destroyed and 
sunk, or whether she sailed off victorious, we may be 
able to determine when we make an examination. 
Let’s see if we can get into the cabin. There, I think, 
we may get some additional information.” 

The stairs of the companionway leading to the 
cabin, while rotted like the deck, were nevertheless suf- 
ficiently strong to bear their weight. There were 
three berths in the cabin in one of which a skeleton 
was lying. They inferred from the remnants of rot- 
ting clothing that partially covered it that it was the 
skeleton of a man. A piece of muslin was still 
wrapped around its head. Enough of it, however, had 
fallen off to disclose a hole produced by a musket-ball 
on the forehead, while a deep indentation in one of 
the bones of the right arm apparently showed the 
marks of a saber cut. 

“ This,” said the captain, “ was probably the com- 
mander of the vessel who, after being wounded, was 
brought down into the cabin by his companions to 
die.” 

t 289 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ See here, captain,” said Jack, who had pulled open 
a locker in one corner of the cabin, the door of which 
was so rotten that it came off in his hands and fell to 
the floor; “ look at this flag,” and with that he held 
up a black flag with a skull and cross-bones worked 
on its surface in white. 

“ It is as I imagined,” said the captain. “ This was 
a pirate ship and has probably been destroyed by the 
vessel it was attacking. I think we had better look 
carefully over the vessel to see whether anything of 
value is to be found. Wait a moment,” he added, going 
on deck and hailing Hiram and telling him briefly 
what they had discovered. 

“ See ef she hez any money or other waleables,” 
cried Hiram. 

“ All right,” replied the captain. “ If there are 
valuables we will try to find them.” 

As they went through the different parts of the 
vessel the skeletons were a most gruesome sight. 
They counted no less than twenty of them. While 
there was no flesh remaining on the bones, yet the 
damp air to which they had been exposed had pro- 
duced a species of horrible fungus growth on some of 
them. Near each skeleton was found the musket, 
pistol, or the cutlass with which the man had been 
armed. 

“ I think, uncle,” exclaimed Harold, “ that we ought 
to find treasures on the vessel. I remember read- 
ing about Captain Kidd, who seems to have stolen 
such a pile of money and other things from the ves- 
290 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sels he destroyed that he was obliged to bury them 
on lonely islands in different parts of the world.” 

“ If this vessel has been a pirate for many years 
I do not doubt that many valuable goods have been 
taken. It all depends, however, on whether the vessel 
with which these people were fighting was sunk during 
the action or was successful. If the latter, the con- 
querors would of course have taken everything of 
value with them.” 

“ Suppose we should find a big treasure,” continued 
Harold, “ would it belong to us or would we have to 
give it up ? ” 

“We had better find the treasure first, Harold,” 
said his uncle smiling. 

“ But if we should find it ? ” persisted the boy. 

“ Well, if we should find it and could discover the 
parties from whom it had been stolen we would, of 
course, in honesty be obliged to return it to them, but 
the chances of doing this would of course be very few ; 
for even supposing, as is highly improbable, that the 
pirate had left such people living, so long a time has 
apparently elapsed since this vessel was destroyed that 
these people are probably dead long ago, and there 
is no way by which their heirs could be discovered. 
Of course, as to the pirates themselves, they would 
have no right to leave these treasures to their heirs. 
I think, therefore, if we find anything no one will dis- 
pute our right to keep it as our property.” 

Although a careful examination of the derelict 
showed that at one time the vessel had contained a 
291 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


valuable store of different kinds of rich merchandise, 
yet during the many years to which it had been ex- 
posed to the damp air, this had either rusted or rotted, 
so that it was practically worthless. It was evident 
too, that if any gold or other money or jewels had been 
collected, they had been removed by some parties who 
had been there before them, probably the crew of the 1 
destroying vessel; for with the exception of a few 
gold pieces and some comparatively common jewelry, 
they were unable to find anything of value. They 
therefore returned to the deck of the derelict and in- 
formed Hiram as to the result of the search. 

“ Do you want to come on deck, Hiram? If so, I 
will leave the boys here and bring you the boat.” 

“ Wall, sir,” said Hiram, “ sence I’m here so near 
the wessel I think I’ll go aboard her, and the boys and I 
will see if we kain’t find something that’s worth 
money.” 

“ Boys,” said the captain, “ wait here until Hiram 
joins you. You’re not afraid to stay here with the 
skeletons, are you ? ” 

Now the truth is that Harold was not at all pleased 
with the idea of remaining on the derelict, but seeing 
a smile come into the captain’s face and fearing that 
he would laugh at him, he replied : 

“ Yes, uncle, Jack and I will remain here.” 

When Hiram boarded the derelict they again made 
search for gold or other valuables. The search, how- 
ever, was unsuccessful for nothing of any value was 
found. 

292 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


As they were about leaving the derelict Hiram, who 
had been greatly admiring the bronze cannon suc- 
ceeded in dismounting one of them from the gun-car- 
riage and lowered it into the life-boat. 

“ Mebbe we kin use it some time,” he remarked. 

The brig remained for two additional weeks near 
the center of the Sargasso Sea. These weeks proved 
exceedingly uncomfortable and unpleasant, for the 
number of derelicts increased. They thought it worth 
their while to examine only four of these. In two 
instances several skeletons were found. In two other 
instances, however, where the vessels appeared as if 
they had not been in the water for a long time, they 
found a number of dead bodies in a state of awful 
decomposition. The odor given out by these bodies 
in the close, confined air of the cabins in which they 
were found was of so horrible a nature that they 
hurriedly left the vessels without making any further 
examination. 

“What kind of a place are we getting into, any- 
how? ” exclaimed Jack. 

“ The graveyard of the sea,” replied the captain. 


293 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXII 
Towed by a Cachalot 

Their condition was not only growing unpleasant 
but was becoming very dangerous. The drifting of 
the brig was very slow; indeed, at times it appeared 
as if it had no onward motion whatever. The ex- 
tent of the floating masses of seaweed had so greatly 
increased as almost completely to cover the sur- 
face of the water. Moreover, the flotsam, or por- 
tions of goods swept overboard from wrecked vessels 
that on account of their buoyancy continued to float, 
increased in amount. To these were added various 
portions of wrecked vessels themselves, such as rails, 
masts, spars, planks, and in some cases portions 
of the cabin furniture. This floating debris so im- 
peded the slow onward motion the feeble currents 
might have given them, that their daily progress be- 
came almost inappreciable. 

As soon as Hiram had obtained the masts and spars 
from the floating wreckage alluded to in the pre- 
ceding chapter, he persuaded the others to aid him in 
erecting two masts on the brig, together with such 
spars as were necessary for the support of the sails. 

Owing to the presence of water in the lower hold 
it was impossible to rest the ends of the masts against 
the keel, so they were obliged to employ a far less 
294 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


satisfactory method. When completed, it was an odd- 
looking arrangement of masts, spars, and rigging gen- 
erally, but it was the best they could do. Indeed, it 
very well matched their sails ; for, being unable to find 
a sufficient quantity of sailcloth in the stores for sails, 
they were obliged to use the same kind of highly 
colored blankets employed for their overcoats. These 
carefully stitched together, and properly placed on the 
spars produced an appearance which was to say the 
least very astonishing. 

“ I allow,” said Hiram, “ that though our sails may 
be wery purty, they would likely make some of my 
messmates laugh ef they could see ’em. Howsumever, 
ef ther wuz eny wind, I am purty sartin they’d draw. 
But blame it all,” he continued, “ there don’t seem to 
be no chance uv a wind ever cornin’ into this blooming 
region.” 

With the aid of the captain, Hiram also succeeded 
in rigging up a jury-rudder on the stern of the brig. 
As he remarked: 

“ I think it’ll work all right, but we can’t tell for 
sartin ontil a wind comes.” 

Hiram was much provoked after all the work they 
had in setting up the masts and rigging, arranging 
the sails, and building the jury-rudder and putting it 
in place, that there was no wind with which to test 
his work. During the entire time they were in the 
region, there had not been sufficient wind to make even 
a catspaw appear on those limited portions of the ocean 
where the water could be seen. 

295 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Hiram’s companionship with the captain and the 
boys had done much toward weakening his supersti- 
tious fancies. There is, however, one superstition so 
deeply rooted in the mind of the average sailor that 
probably nothing can uproot it; this is that the wind 
can be induced to blow by a species of ridiculous magic. 
The boys were greatly amused one day watching 
Hiram’s proceedings in this direction. They were 
careful, however, not to let him know they were 
watching him. 

Hiram was evidently ashamed of what he was do- 
ing ; for, he looked around every now and then to see 
if any one was about. This is what the boys saw : 
He began by going to one of the masts which they 
had recently erected and commenced to scratch it with 
the nail of his hand. As this did not produce the de- 
sired effect he opened one of the blades of his knife and 
drove it some little distance into the wood of the mast. 

“ What in the world is he doing?” whispered 
Harold to Jack. 

“ Not so loud, Harold,” said Jack, “ he’ll hear us. 
I’ve heard that sailors frequently act in this way under 
the belief they can make the wind blow. Let’s keep on 
watching. A plan they often adopt for raising a wind 
is to whistle for it. I think after a while Hiram will 
begin to whistle.” 

Hiram was evidently much chagrined at the failure 
of what he had done to the mast of the ship to bring 
him a wind. 

“ Bad luck,” they could hear him growling in a 
296 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


low tone. “ I hev did all these things jes as I’ve seed 
my mates do, but there comes nary a wind. Guess I’ll 
try whistling.” So he began a low whistle as though 
he feared attracting the attention of his companions, 
who he was sure would laugh at him. Being no 
more successful with the faint whistling he gradually 
increased it until he was whistling as loud as he possi- 
bly could. At the same time they heard him speaking. 
What he said was as follows : 

“ Come now, rouse yerself up, old boy, and give us 
a wind to blow us out of this here place.” 

We cannot say what further proceedings Hiram 
would have gone through with ; for, as is well known, 
sailors are so full of superstitious ideas concerning the 
wind that he would probably have continued, but when 
he began talking in a pleading tone to the invisible 
power he believed could send the wind, the boys could 
stand it no longer. Laughing aloud, they came up to 
him and said : 

“ What are you doing, Hiram, trying to raise a 
wind? ” 

“ Wall,” said Hiram, in a shamefaced manner, 
“ I’ll tell ye the truth, my lads, I wuz, but the blamed 
things won’t work.” 

“ Of course they won’t, Hiram,” said Jack, “ it’s 
well understood that winds are caused by differences 
of heat and cold, so that whistling or scratching a ves- 
sel’s masts are not going to bring them.” 

“ They be caused by differences of heat and cold, 
be they, Mr. Jack?” he replied. “I’m sure there’s 
297 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


a-plenty of heat. I s’pose the wind don’t come ’cause 
there’s no cold.” 

“ Very likely,” said Jack laughing. 

Afterward when the boys told the captain about 
Hiram’s strange actions, he said : 

“ There is a very common belief among sailors that 
winds can be made to blow by means of certain 
charms. Whistling is one of the commonest. You 
may probably remember what Longfellow wrote about 
this belief : 

“ Only a little while ago, 

I was whistling to Saint Anthony, 

For a capful of wind to fill our sail; 

And instead of a breeze he sent a gale.” 

The hot sultry weather and the continued calms, 
together with the gloomy sights that surrounded them, 
were gradually affecting their health. It was next to 
impossible to sleep in the cabin on account of the 
stifling hot air, so they spent most of the night on 
deck. Here, however, they either actually smelled, 
in an occasional derelict they passed, the horrible air 
due to the gradual rotting of corpses, or, even when 
such an odor had no actual existence, they so con- 
jured it up in their imaginations that they actually 
suffered almost as much as if it was really there. Then 
too, while their food supplies were still sufficient to 
prevent any immediate cause for worry, yet the rains 
had for some reason or other been very scant, and the 
water supply was daily growing dangerously low. 

These causes combined greatly to worry the captain. 

298 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


The state of their health, especially that of Harold 
gave him much anxiety. He feared, and not without 
reason, that the stagnant air remaining as it did almost 
constantly in contact with the decaying matter floating 
on the surface of the water, would breed some con- 
tagious disease that would carry them all off. He, 
therefore, gave much anxious thought and endeavored 
to make some plan by which they might force their 
way to the outside of the Sargasso Sea, where they 
could meet a current that would carry them away from 
the awful region. 

At one time the captain thought that possibly by 
attaching the painter of the life-boat to the bow of the 
vessel they might be able to tow the brig toward the 
open water. After a trial, however, lasting nearly ten 
consecutive hours in which the men and boys alter- 
nately rowed, finding, that as far as they could see, 
they had made almost no progress whatever, the cap- 
tain reluctantly abandoned this plan as worthless. 

Although they had not given up the study of the 
seaweed and its animal life, yet for the past week or 
so the hot weather with its humid, stifling, fetid air, 
and their inability to rest at night, had so lowered 
their general health that they paid less and less atten- 
tion to these observations and at last discontinued them 
entirely. 

One day, Jack, who had been observing the sur- 
rounding sea with the glasses, suddenly turned to the 
captain, and said: 

“ Captain, there’s something I cannot understand. 

299 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


There appears to be a large open space over there,” 
pointing to a certain part of the ocean, “ that is won- 
derfully clear from weed or other floating matter.” 

“ Well, Jack,” said the captain listlessly, “ I don’t 
see anything remarkable in that.” 

“ But, captain,” persisted Jack, “ the queer thing 
about it is that the water is not calm, but seems to be 
in motion.” 

“ What’s that ye say?” cried Hiram, turning his 
glasses toward the place indicated by Jack. “ Ye say 
the water be a-moving. Perhaps it’s a wind a-coming,” 
and then turning to the boys, he cried triumphantly, 
“ see here, now, that magic I did t’other day warn’t so 
bad arter all. I allow it’s worken now.” 

“ Why, Hiram,” exclaimed Harold, “ that was two 
days ago. The magic couldn’t have lasted till now, 
could it? ” 

“ I won’t say for sartin,” said Hiram, obstinately, 
“ it might be if the magic were strong enough.” 

He had stopped looking through the glasses in order 
to talk with the boys. The captain, however, in an 
excited tone, cried: 

“ That’s no wind, Hiram. That motion is caused 
by something below the surface.” 

Hiram again pointing his glasses to the spot cried : 

“ I allow you’re right, captain. I have seed that 
before. Look,” he cried, still more excitedly, as a 
rounded black object emerged a short distance above 
the water, and then, bringing its huge head to the 
surface, there could be seen a column of light misty 
300 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


spray rising in the air accompanied by a blowing 
sound ; “ thar she blows,” continued Hiram. “ It’s a 
whale. A-many of ’em I’ve seed, fer I was two years 
sarvin’ as boatswain on a whaler.” 

“ What kind of a whale do you suppose it is, 
Hiram? ” asked the captain. 

“ I can’t tell for sartin, sir,” was the reply, “ but I 
guess it’s a sperm whale.” 

“ Hiram, let me take a look through your glasses, 
please,” said Harold. 

“ Sartin, Mr. Harold, and it’s a sight worth seein’,” 
he exclaimed as he handed him the glasses. 

“ Good gracious ! ” exclaimed Harold, greatly as- 
tonished at what he saw. “ Look at that, Jack. The 
whale’s striking the water with his big tail and 
making a great ado about it.” 

“ That’s what the whaling men call loblolling,” 
said Hiram. 

At each successive blow a sound was produced that 
they could distinctly hear. 

“Look at him now,” cried Jack; “he has jumped 
out of the water. See him come down with a bang.” 

It was odd indeed to see the immense creature jump 
several times out of the water striking it with a bang 
that caused the spray to rise high in the air — some- 
thing like what boys call a belly-smasher when a bad 
dive is taken while swimming. 

“ The animal appears playful,” said the captain, 
“ though I have heard that this thing is practised by 
several species of whales for the purpose of endeavor- 
301 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ing to rid their bodies of a parasitic or sucking fish 
that fixes itself firmly on its sides. 

“ Hiram,” continued the captain, “ if that fellow is 
a sperm whale, or a cachalot, and we could manage 
to get a harpoon stuck in its body, might we not have 
a chance of the animal drawing us out of this part of 
the ocean ? ” 

“ I allow we might,” was the reply. 

“ Of course,” continued the captain, “ I know there 
would be the difficulty of getting a harpoon in the 
animal and even supposing we could do this and he 
could pull us through the water there would be the 
danger of smashing into some of the derelicts. I 
think we could rely on the jury-rudder preventing 
the brig striking such a thing as a derelict or other 
large piece of wreckage.” 

“ I ain’t got no doubts about it,” said Hiram. “ I 
feel sartin that air jury-rudder will work. Now I 
allow that sense we ain’t got no whale-boat we’d hev 
trouble in sticking the harpoon into the critter’s body. 
Sometimes, however, I hev known these animals to 
float for an hour er longer on the water in the hot 
sunshine. Ef we could git near enough we might land 
a harpoon in him.” 

“ Didn’t you tell me, Hiram,” inquired the captain, 
“several weeks ago that you had discovered a large 
whale-harpoon in good condition attached to a long 
whale-line? If so, get it out and if we have a chance 
we’ll try our luck in getting the cachalot to tow us 
out of this miserable region.” 

302 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Hiram heartily seconded this proposition and the 
harpoon and whale-line were brought out on the 
deck and left so that they might be used should the 
opportunity present itself. 

Whether the whale was aware of their presence by 
scent or otherwise it never came near the brig. Dur- 
ing the next two days the captain had an opportunity 
of answering many questions put to him by the boys 
concerning the habits of this immense animal. 

“ The whale,” said the captain, “ is a mammalian, 
and like all mammals, brings forth its young alive and 
nurses them during infancy by suckling, the mother 
being provided with udders or teats, from which the 
young is able to suck large quantities of an exceedingly 
rich milk. The mother can sometimes be seen floating 
on the water suckling its young. It lies on its back 
for this purpose with its head partly under water, the 
position being changed from time to time in order to 
permit the mother and its young alternately to 
breathe.” 

“ Uncle Arthur,” inquired Harold, “ is it from this 
whale that whalebone is obtained ? ” 

“ No, Harold, whalebone is obtained from a species 
of whale called the baleen whale. The baleen whale, in- 
stead of being provided with teeth has a number of 
horny plates, some three or four hundred, which hang 
downward into the mouth from the palate. These 
plates are triangular in cross-section, and are pro- 
vided at their ends and edges with hairy shreds. As 
the whale swims with its mouth open, through shoals 
303 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


of very minute crustaceans and other tiny animals on 
which it lives, it uses this device as a species of net 
by which the animals are strained out, and, as soon 
as it has secured a good mouthful of food, it closes 
its jaws, allowing the water to drain out and swallows 
what it has caught. 

“ Now,” he continued, “ the cachalot or sperm whale 
which we have been examining is of an entirely differ- 
ent species, being what is called a toothed whale, be- 
cause it is provided with numbers of strong conical 
teeth on one of its jaws. When this animal is feeding 
it drops its lower jaw to nearly right angles to the 
upper jaw, thus displaying its bright white teeth. This 
is said to attract its prey and as soon as the animals 
come in contact with the jaw it closes it with a snap 
thus crushing its food which it then swallows.” 

“ Then, sir,” inquired Jack, “ I suppose the food 
of the sperm whale consists of much larger animals 
than that of the whalebone whale ? ” 

“ Yes,” was the reply, “ the sperm whale I believe 
lives on such animals as squids and cuttlefish.” 

“ What makes the spouting column we saw ? ” in- 
quired Harold. “ Does the animal draw the water in 
at its mouth and then squirt it up into the air? ” 

“ No, Harold, that is a common but a mistaken 
idea. It is not a column of water that is spouted up- 
ward, but a column of mist or cloud. The animal 
can remain a long time under water. Before sinking 
it fills its lungs with air, and, when it comes to the 
surface, breathes out this air through its nostrils or 
304 













u 


‘ We are heading fer the open zvater,’ 
cried Hiram ” 


Page 3°5 





FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


blow-hole. As the air has been for some time in the 
animal’s body it is filled with water vapor, which be- 
ing condensed, when cooled by contact with the air, 
forms a column of fog or cloud that at a distance is 
• sometimes mistaken for a column of water. The 
blowing sound is due to the air escaping forcibly 
through the nostrils.” 

Since the whale appeared to avoid coming near the 
vessel they determined to hide themselves so as to 
prevent being seen by the animal. Whether it was 
due to this fact, or was merely a matter of luck, we 
will not say, but one afternoon they had the good for- 
tune to drift noiselessly so near a huge whale lying 
asleep, or at least motionless, on the surface of the 
water, that Hiram was able to hurl the harpoon so 
that it entered deep in the side of the animal. 

With a roar of pain and rage, the wounded animal 
suddenly dropped out of sight as if it had been a lump 
of lead or iron. Hiram had taken the precaution of 
coiling the long whale-line so that it would not kink or 
tangle and had attached the other end firmly to a 
strong support near the bow of the vessel. As the line 
pulled taut a sudden jerk- was given to the brig so 
severe that they feared would either break the whale- 
line or tear the bolt out of the side of the brig to which 
it had been attached. 

The brig at once began rapidly to move through the 
water toward the southwest. 

“ We are heading fer the open water,” cried Hiram. 
“ Ef this keeps up we air a-goin’ to git out.” 
u 305 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Yes,” said the captain, “ and we are moving very 
rapidly. That is an immense animal, Hiram,” he 
added, “ I should say nearly eighty feet in length.” 

“ He’s a big whale, sir,” said Hiram. “ I’m only 
afeered that he’ll git mad, turn, and run agin the wes- 
sel. I’ve heerd of good wessels being sunk in that 
way.” 

Fortunately the cachalot that had them in tow was 
apparently not of the fighting type. As might have 
been known from its great size it was a male; for, 
the female of this animal is always much smaller than 
the male. He simply continued swimming with great 
rapidity toward the south, coming, of course, every 
now and then to the surface to breathe. It was won- 
derful the length of time the animal was able to con- 
tinue under the water. 

At first it did not appear that the animal was se- 
verely wounded for the vapor spout from his spout- 
hole was quite free from blood. Toward the close of 
his long run, which was over thirty-six hours, possibly 
by reason of bursting a blood-vessel, the spout became 
deeply tinged with blood, and shortly after these symp- 
toms appeared, the animal showed by his actions that 
he was in his death-throes; for, he began lashing the 
surface of the water with his huge tail, beating it 
with a deafening noise into a great mass of foam. 
Finally, in his last agonies, he began swinging around 
with almost inconceivable velocity in a short circular 
path. 

Immediately before his death, however, a change in 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the tactics of the dying animal greatly alarmed them; 
for, stopping a moment in his frenzied, circular mo- 
tion, he raised his huge head out of the water and 
looking angrily at the brig started as if he intended to 
butt it with his head. Fortunately, however, the ani- 
mal had expended his remaining energy; for, at this 
moment, a torrent of blood gushed out from his spout- 
hole, and he turned over on his side and died. 

They were surprised that the animal had been able 
to continue his wild rush toward the south for so long 
a time. It is probable, however, as the captain sug- 
gested, that this long run was possible, owing to the 
fact that the harpoon had not reached any vital spot. 
Toward the end of the run, however, several hours 
before the death-throes began, possibly urged by in- 
creasing fear at being unable to rid himself of his 
strange load his speed was notably increased. This, 
most probably, had resulted in the bursting of a blood- 
vessel. 

Toward the end, the spouting of the animal was at- 
tended by a hoarse roaring sound not unlike the bel- 
lowing of a bull. This, however, was due to the 
labored passage of the air as it was violently expelled 
through the partially stopped air passages of the animal 
in its dying throes. 

As the dead body of the huge animal lay quietly 
floating on the surface of the water, they were greatly 
pleased to note that the brig was no longer in the 
Sargasso Sea, but in clear water, and was evidently 
in a well-marked ocean-current, for the brig was drift- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in g toward the west, only now, instead of being towed 
by the whale, it was towing the whale toward the west 
at the rate of several miles an hour. 

“ Hurrah! Hurrah!” cried the captain, “we are 
safely out of the Sargasso Sea, and are now floating in 
open water. The animal has saved us, but it has been 
at the cost of its own life.” 

Taking advantage of a momentary slacking of the 
brig’s motion, they succeeded, after considerable diffi- 
culty, in transferring the whale-line to the stern of the 
brig, and this being done they were able to gradually 
haul in on the line until the floating carcass was 
brought in near enough for inspection. 

They could now see what almost always occurs under 
such circumstances. The waters seemed to be literally 
swarming with sharks that had been attracted by the 
presence of so much food. Many of them were of 
great size and had already begun to tear and rend the 
body, eagerly devouring it. Hiram wished to take the 
life-boat, so as to obtain some of the blubber for the 
furnishing of oil for their lamps, or of the valuable 
wax-like substance, spermaceti, from a portion of the 
head known as the case. The captain, however, very 
wisely persuaded him of the inadvisability of doing 
this, urging that this work requires the proper tools 
and considerable skill, and that, moreover, from the 
number of sharks surrounding the carcass, any un- 
fortunate slip while engaged in this work would be 
exceedingly dangerous. 

“ If we actually needed the oil and the spermaceti,” 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


said the captain, “ we might be justified in taking the 
risk, but not otherwise.” 

“ Uncle,” exclaimed Harold, “ I don’t see that its 
teeth can be of much use to this whale. As far as 
I can see he has no teeth in the upper jaw to bite 
against. Do you know whether there are any teeth 
in the upper jaw? I can’t understand it.” 

“ Nor can others much older than yourself, Harold,” 
said the captain, laughing. “ It is, however, the gen- 
eral belief that the cachalot was originally provided 
with teeth on both the upper and the lower jaws, but 
gradually lost these teeth for want of use. I re- 
member reading of whales in which some slight evi- 
dences of teeth, or at least places suitable for the recep- 
tion of teeth, are still found in the upper jaws. Since 
this jaw is hard the animal has no use for its teeth 
especially when the soft character of its food is con- 
sidered ; for, this is very often the giant squid or cut- 
tlefish. Besides, I understand the animal is capable 
of giving a slight sawlike motion to the jaw which 
makes it a formidable weapon when used against the 
squid or cuttlefish.” 

After having satisfied themselves examining the 
whale, the line was cut as near to the animal as they 
conveniently could when the animal was abandoned to 
the sharks, as well as to the numerous sea-fowl that 
were fighting with the sharks for their share of the 
prey. It seemed almost cruel to thus leave the body 
of the animal that had drawn them out of the Sargasso 
Sea at the cost of its life. 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


That afternoon while in the cabin the captain gave 
them some interesting information concerning the 
whale. 

“ A great number of animals are included under the 
general name of whales,” he said. “ All these, how- 
ever, as far as their importance is concerned, can be 
divided into the baleen whales, or, as they might be 
called in common language, whalebone whales, and 
into the toothed whale of which the sperm whale is 
an example. 

“ It is from the baleen whale that whalebone is 
obtained. Sometimes a good-sized whale will yield 
almost two tons of whalebone. 

“ The toothed whale,” continued the captain, “ in- 
cludes a great variety of animals, including the cacha- 
lot, or sperm whale, the bottle-nose, the Arctic nar- 
whal, the beluga, the grampus, or killer, and the com- 
mon dolphin. The sperm whale which is one of the 
most important of the class, unlike the baleen whale, 
is destitute of the whalebone sieve and is provided, on 
both sides of its lower jaw, with hard teeth as you 
have seen. The cachalot is capable of swallowing huge 
mouthfuls as it does when it attacks its principal food 
supply, the squid or cuttlefish. Such an animal, de- 
spite the gross ignorance of the so-called higher 
critics of the Bible, who call in question the credi- 
bility of the whale mentioned in connection with the 
prophet Jonah, could not only readily swallow a man 
but an object much larger than a man.” 


310 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXIII 
The Floating Bottle 

According to observations made by the captain with 
the sextant and the chronometer, they were now in 
latitude i8° N., longitude 150° W., or were again well 
within the limits of the Northeast Trades. The steady 
wind from the northeast was very agreeable after 
the stagnant air of the Sargasso Sea, but Hiram was 
especially pleased since it gave him the long and anx- 
iously waited for opportunity of testing the brig’s sails 
and the jury-rudder. There was one fact, however, 
that soon became evident, both to Hiram and the cap- 
tain, and that was that even supposing the gaudy 
colored sails would stand strong winds, it would by no 
means be safe to bring too strong pressure on the masts 
in view of the very weak condition of the brig’s tim- 
bers. The action of the rudder was fairly satisfactory ; 
for, it was able to determine the course of the brig pro- 
vided they did not attempt to sail too close to the wind. 

The fact that they were now under sail necessitated 
much harder work and required two to be on watch on 
the deck, one to attend to the steering and the other 
to make such occasional changes in the sails as might 
be necessary. The labors of this watch, however, were 
not very severe since the direction of the vessel was 
seldom changed, while the simple character of the sails 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


and rigging did not call for any severe work. Indeed, 
both of the boys were quite competent to attend to this 
work and were very glad to do so. 

The watches were arranged so that each watch in- 
cluded the captain and one of the boys, or Hiram and 
the other boy. By means of the dog-watches, as before, 
however, they arranged matters so that a fair division 
of the two watches were arranged as regards night 
work. These duties, however, were not so severe as to 
prevent them from obtaining an abundance of sleep. 
In this way they were able to more than make up for 
the many almost sleepless nights they had experienced 
while in the heart of the Sargasso Sea. 

As the brig approached the Equator they again en- 
tered the Equatorial Counter Current of the Pacific. 
Again passing through the regions of the doldrums, or 
the Zone of Equatorial Calms, they at last entered the 
zone of the Southeast Trades. Here too, they entered 
the South Equatorial Current, a broad constant ocean 
current that sweeps across the ocean from east to west. 

They spent much of their time, except, of course, 
that required for sleeping, on deck. One day, while 
Jack and the captain were sitting under an awning 
talking and reading, while Hiram and Harold were on 
watch, Jack, who had been looking through the glasses 
at something floating in their wake, became greatly 
excited and handing the glasses to the captain ex- 
claimed : 

“ I think that’s a floating bottle over there, captain,” 
pointing to the object at which he had been looking. 
3 12 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Yes,” said the captain, apparently even more ex- 
cited than Jack was. “ Call Hiram and Harold. We 
will lower the life-boat and pick it up. There is no 
telling what news it may bring us.” 

“ I do not think it is one of our bottles, captain,” 
remarked Jack. “ It seems to me of a different size 
and shape from those we threw overboard. What 
do you think ? ” 

“ It is not one of our bottles,” replied the captain, 
who had been examining the bottle through the glasses 
while Jack had been talking to him. “ But call Hiram 
and Harold ; we will lower the life-boat, pick it up, and 
then we will soon find out all about it.” 

As soon as Hiram had secured the rudder, by lashing 
it in the direction in which they were moving, the cap- 
tain requested Jack to accompany Hiram in the life- 
boat, which was soon lowered and in a few minutes 
Jack had picked up the floating bottle, brought it on 
deck, and handed it to the captain. It was not only 
a sealed bottle, but being made of thin light-colored 
glass, they could see a roll of paper inside it. They 
crowded around the captain, anxiously watching him 
as he removed the cork and began to unroll the small 
sheet of paper it contained. 

The letter happened to be rolled so that the captain 
saw the upper portion before the signature was un- 
covered. There was evidently something in the writing 
that greatly surprised him, for he exclaimed : 

“ I know that handwriting. It is that of Captain 
Parker, of the Ketrel. See,” he continued, completely 
313 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


unwrapping the sheet, “ here is his signature, William 
M. Parker.” 

“ How wonderful,” exclaimed Jack. “ To think that 
in this immense body of water after the exceedingly 
long and irregular path our brig has taken, we should 
happen to be on this part of the ocean the same time 
the bottle is crossing our path.” 

“ Yes,” said the captain, who had naturally been 
glancing at the letter, “ it is indeed wonderful, Jack, 
especially since it is almost certain that the bottle has 
taken an entirely different route from that of the brig. 
But,” he said, “ we can talk about that afterward. 
This letter brings good news concerning the fate of 
our late companions. All of them have been saved. 
Listen while I read.” After giving the date, the lati- 
tude and longitude, the captain read the following : 

The ship Ketrel, of London, from Liverpool to Yoko- 
hama, has been wrecked here by a typhoon. Our masts 
and rigging have been broken off and washed overboard, and 
before they could be cleared away the sides of the vessel 
have been injured. The vessel leaked badly and began to 
sink, but not before all on board were safely transferred to 
our four boats. As the last boat was safely off the ship 
sank and disappeared. During the continuance of the storm 
one of our boats under the command of the first mate, 
Lieut. Arthur Harding, was separated from the others, and 
not having been seen we fear she has been lost. In this 
boat besides Lieutenant Harding were Hiram Higgenbotham, 
boatswain; two English lads, Harold Arthur Harding and 
John Parker Jackson, and two of the crew. All the other 
boats kept together and steered for the coast of China. Dur- 
ing another storm which continued for five days our boats 
have been greatly injured and are now sinking. God have 
mercy upon us. 


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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Then came the following writing evidently having 
been added some time afterward : 

At nearly the last moment, as we are almost sinking, 
when about sealing this letter in the bottle, we have all been 
safely transferred to a steamer bound for Tokio. I will 
throw the bottle overboard, anyhow, as it is now ready. Any 
one finding this bottle will please forward letter to Mr. John 
Harding, care of the British consulate, Yokohama, Japan. 

William M. Parker, captain of the Ketrel. 

When the captain finished reading there was an out- 
burst of joy from all. 

“Let us thank God,” said the captain, “for this great 
deliverance of our friends,” and reverently kneeling, 
the captain made a brief but earnest prayer. 

It is not difficult to understand the effect produced on 
the four people on the brig by this very unexpected and 
joyous news. All had friends or relatives among those 
saved. Remembering the narrow escape they had 
during those five awful days of storm while in the open 
boat, each had secretly feared though careful to con- 
ceal his fears, that all the other boats had been sunk and 
their occupants drowned. Now, however, they knew 
beyond doubt, that their friends had long ago reached 
Japan, and their friends in Yokohama. 

Hiram was the first to break the silence that fol- 
lowed the captain’s prayer. 

“ I’ve heerd great news many a time,” he said, “ but 
this beats ’em all hollow; fer, I know now for sartin 
thet all my messmates ain’t yet been gathered into 
Davy Jones’ locker, as I feared they hed been.” 

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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ It is indeed magnificent news,” said the captain. 
“ It must be a matter of great satisfaction to Captain 
Parker that, with the exception of our boat which he 
regards as hopelessly lost, he has been able to insure 
the safety of all the passengers in the three boats. It 
must have been a happy moment for him when he saw 
them all safely transferred to the steamer.” 

“ And how splendid it is,” said Jack, “ that the 
steamer that rescued them was bound for Tokio.” And 
then remembering that Tokio was near Yokohama so 
that Harold’s father and mother must by this time 
have heard of the supposed death of the two boys and 
Lieutenant Harding, he did not finish speaking. 

Harold, who understood why Jack had stopped talk- 
ing, remarked: 

“ I know why you stop, Jack. Father and mother 
have long ago been mourning us as dead. Captain,” he 
inquired eagerly, “ don’t you think it possible that some 
of the sealed bottles we threw overboard containing an 
account of our escape and our presence on the brig may 
have been picked up so that the news may in this 
manner have reached Yokohama? ” 

“ It is quite possible, Harold,” was the reply, “ and 
if so, every vessel that sails in these waters will be on 
the outlook for our derelict brig.” 

“ I hope so, uncle, indeed,” said Harold sorrowfully. 
“ It is not that we are not having a splendid time on 
the brig; indeed, if it were not for father and mother 
I would be willing and happy to stay here for a long 
time.” 


316 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Seeing how deeply the lad was affected by the knowl- 
edge that as far as the information contained from the 
survivors of the wrecked Ketrel was concerned that his 
parents were mourning him as dead, and wishing to 
make him more hopeful the captain said : 

“ You must not forget, Harold, now that we have 
sails and a rudder, we are no longer obliged to go only 
in the direction in which the currents are moving. We 
are steering toward a part of the ocean where our 
chances of meeting passing vessels are greatly in- 
creased. Moreover, should the opportunity present 
itself, we can sail toward the nearest port, should we 
meet no vessel in the meanwhile.” 

“ Ef the sail and rudder hold,” remarked Hiram, 
“ I’ll promise to navigate the brig to any part of this 
great ocean.” 

“ In what part of the ocean are we, captain? ” in- 
quired Jack. 

“ Come into the cabin and I will show you on the 
chart.” 

When they reached the cabin, pointing to the chart, 
the captain said : 

“We are at present here, in latitude i8° S., longitude 
1 5 5° W., or, as you can see, nearly midway between 
the continent of South America on the east and Aus- 
tralia on the west. The nearest land is some of the 
many islands in this part of the ocean. None of these 
are very large, and as we are now in a current that is 
carrying us in nearly the same direction as that in 
which the winds are blowing us, I think it best to con- 
317 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tinue in this direction in the hopes that before long we 
will be able to speak a passing vessel.” 

They continued in the zone of the Southeast Trades 
for several days, being carried by both winds and cur- 
rent toward the west. Everything now appeared to be 
working in their favor. It is true that since leaving the 
Sargasso Sea they had seen neither sails nor steamers, 
but then again they knew that they might sight them at 
any moment. This, however, was not to be, for one 
day, an exceedingly severe storm suddenly struck the 
brig, carrying away its masts and rudder. The storm 
ceased almost as suddenly as it began, and while the 
brig did not seem to have been injured by it, since the 
nature of its cargo rendered it almost unsinkable, yet 
they were suddenly left in their former helpless con- 
dition of being obliged to go wherever the currents 
carried them. • 

They had not failed during all the past two months 
to throw sealed bottles overboard at the rate of two 
or three a week. Nearly all of these bottles were 
equipped with the tiny white flags that had been placed 
on them in accordance with the plan first suggested by 
Jack. 

All were now in thoroughly good health. The 
change of air, together with the sound rest it was now 
possible to obtain at night, had enabled them entirely to 
recover from the weak condition into which they had 
fallen while in the Sargasso Sea. 

Knowing that a diet containing a reasonable amount 
of fresh meat and fish was necessary in order to keep 
318 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in good health the captain took every opportunity of 
shooting the birds that occasionally came within reach. 
This was done, indeed, ever since they had a life-boat, 
since no matter where the birds fell, they could be 
readily picked up. Then again they were successful in 
fcatching numerous food-fish that afforded them a very 
pleasant change in their diet. Sometimes the brig 
would encounter shoals of various sea-fish such as the 
bonita, a species of mackerel. They had no difficulty 
in taking these in great numbers for Hiram had shown 
the boys how to make nets from strong cotton thread, 
large quantities of which were found in the stores 
of the brig. At first they were satisfied with a variety 
of scoop-net, but the difficulty of lowering this in the 
water without frightening the fish was so great, that 
they abandoned it for a much more effective method 
of fishing. This consisted in the construction of a 
seine, or a long net provided at the top with floats 
made from the cork found in the cargo. By attaching 
small leaden weights to the lower part of the net, it 
was kept in a vertical position in the water. One end 
of the seine was permanently fixed by a rope to the 
stern of the vessel. When required for use the net 
lowered with the life-boat was soon paid out by the 
motion of the brig. It can be understood that they 
would experience some difficulty in hauling the long 
pet back again to the brig by simply rowing the life- 
boat. But this difficulty was obviated by attaching 
a strong rope to the other end of the net and keeping 
this on the brig. In this way, by simply hauling on the 
319 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


line they were able to bring the free end back again to 
the stern of the boat. 

It is true that this method was open to the objection, 
that a large portion of the catch readily escaped by 
sinking in the water. Their net, however, was made 
of strong gilling twine, so that so many of the fish 
were caught by the gills while endeavoring to pass 
through the meshes that they found no difficulty in 
catching more fish than they possibly could use. 

Of course, fishing of this character was mainly suc- 
cessful during times when the brig was passing through 
a shoal of fish. It, therefore, frequently happened 
that a week or more would pass without their being 
able to place fresh fish on the table. 

This absence of fresh fish from the table had such a 
pronounced effect on Harold, who, like all growing 
boys, had a prodigious appetite, and who was unusu- 
ally bright, determined to persuade his uncle to adopt 
a plan by means of which they could lay up a constant 
supply of living fish during such times as they were 
passing through shoals. 

“ Hiram,” he said, one day, “ couldn’t we clear out 
a small space in the lower hold large enough to form 
a well in which to keep fish? We could then be as- 
sured of fresh fish for the table whenever we needed 
them.” 

“ Sartin, Mr. Harold,” replied Hiram, grinning. 
“ It’s a right clever idee. Let’s talk to the cap’in about 
it.” 

The captain heartily approving the plan it was forth- 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


with adopted and after a few days of fairly hard work, 
a fish-well was established in the hold. Since the 
water trickled through the lower part of the hold 
so as to constantly fill it with new water the plan was 
very successful. They soon found, however, that it 
was necessary to use judgment as to the kind of 
fish placed in salt-water storage. On several occa- 
sions, they found they were ingenuously laying up 
food not so much for themselves, as for a few vora- 
cious animals that they had thoughtlessly placed in 
the tank with the other fish. 

It is needless to say that they caught a great variety 
of fish such as the mullet, cavally, yellow-tail, bluefish, 
and other well-known food-fish. Among others, how- 
ever, they would frequently take many curiously shaped 
and brilliantly colored fish. These, however, the captain 
would never permit to be eaten, since as is well known 
some fish of tropical waters are exceedingly poisonous. 

One day, Hiram called the attention of the captain 
to a small object that could be distinctly seen through 
the glasses floating on the surface of the water about 
half a mile directly ahead of them. 

“ Cap’in,” he said, “ if I beant mistaken, here’s a 
chance to take on a load of fresh meat.” 

“What do you mean, Hiram?” inquired Harold, 
who heard him. “ What are you looking at ? Is it a 
cow or an ox that has fallen overboard from some pass- 
ing steamer ? ” 

“ Now quit jollying me,” said Hiram, good-na- 
turedly. “ Wot I be looken at is a great big lot of the 
v 3 21 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


best sort of soup that ever slipped down your gullet, 
and don’t ye fergit it.” 

“ Boiling hot ? ” inquired Harold, laughing. 

“ No,” said Hiram, “ I’ll allow it hez to be caught 
and biled afore it’s good to eat, but it’s thar all the 
same.” 

“ What does he mean ? ” asked Harold of his uncle. 
“ Is he looking at anything good to eat if we cook it? ” 

The brig was drifting directly toward the animal. 
They were therefore soon near enough to permit 
Harold to distinctly see the floating object. Instead of 
replying, the captain handed him the glasses. What 
Harold saw was an immense sea-turtle of the kind 
known as the green turtle, not from the color of its 
shell or carapace, which was of a dark olive mingled 
with a dingy white, but from the rich green fat that 
is so highly esteemed by epicures. The animal was 
lying asleep on the waters. 

“ Hiram,” exclaimed the captain, “ get the harpoon- 
gun. “ We’ll try to land the harpoon in the animal’s 
shell.” 

The gun was quickly brought on deck and loaded 
and since the brig was quietly drifting toward the 
turtle they had no difficulty in planting the harpoon 
directly in the middle of its shell. The animal im- 
mediately disappeared below the water, but fortunately 
the harpoon clung to the shell and on lowering the life- 
boat they succeeded in placing it in the boat and after- 
ward on the brig. 

The animal thus secured was between six and seven 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


feet in length, and must have weighed something in 
the neighborhood of from seven to eight hundred 
pounds. Its head was too large to be drawn into the 
shell. Like the body of the animal, it was protected 
by a hard sheath-like covering. The feet were webbed 
so that these animals are capable of swimming rapidly 
through the water. 

Hiram appeared to be greatly pleased when he 
placed the first pot of turtle soup on the table in the 
cabin for they all agreed that it was the most delicious 
eating that they had had for a long while. The animal 
they had killed was a female that was almost ready to 
deposit its eggs. 

When ready to lay its eggs the sea-turtle seeks the 
shore of some lonely island where free from its great- 
est enemy, man, it makes a hole in the sand with its 
body, deposits its eggs, and covering them with sand, 
leaves nature to hatch them out. The simple but in- 
geniously constructed incubator, under the influence of 
the sun’s heat, hatches out the young turtles which as 
soon as born, instinctively make for the water. Here 
wholesale destruction by sharks, fish, and other ani- 
mals, waiting for their prey, prevent all but a few from 
attaining full growth. 

It is an easy thing to capture a turtle on the land 
since its shell is so broad and depressed in the middle, 
that when the animal is turned on its back, it is im- 
possible for it to regain its feet. 

For the next few days they had turtle meat in pro- 
fusion, but the weather being warm and there being no 
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FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


way of preserving the food, the remainder soon became 
too gamy to eat. They were careful, however, to save 
the upper shell; for, drying it and mending the hole 
formed by the harpoon, it was employed to the great 
satisfaction of the boys as a bathtub, as, while the 
boys were excellent swimmers, yet the frequent ap- 
pearance of sharks in the water took away the pleasure 
of such exercise. When, however, Hiram would fill 
the bathtub with sea-water they could splash about in 
their magnificent tortoise-shell tub free from any dan- 
ger of making food for the sharks. 

It must not be supposed that turtle soup was the only 
kind of food Hiram placed on the table from the great 
animal they had killed. For the meat obtained from 
portions of the body made most excellent steaks, while 
from the numerous eggs that were found, of which 
there were upward of two hundred and fifty, they made 
splendid omelets, employing for this purpose instead of 
butter, the rich green fat of the animal. 


324 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXIV 
Charley 

They had now been about four and a half months on 
the derelict, during which time they had been carried 
by both the currents and winds though mainly by the 
former, over a great extent of water. Both before and 
since the catching of the turtle the weather had con- 
tinued good. A change, however, now occurred; 
storms became frequent, some of them lasting for 
several days. 

One day Harold came rushing in an excited manner 
into the cabin where the captain was sitting talking to 
Jack and exclaimed : 

“ O Uncle Arthur, the smoke of a steamer can be 
seen directly ahead of us-; at least Hiram thinks it’s a 
steamer.” 

The three ran hurriedly up the companionway to the 
deck. Hiram pointing to a streak of smoke on the 
horizon almost directly ahead, exclaimed: 

“ I’m a’most sartin, cap’in, thet ere smoke comes 
from a steamer. Her hull is too fer down to be sure, 
but ef that streak arn’t smoke Fd like to know what it 
is.” 

“ I think it is smoke, Hiram,” said the captain. “ As 
you see, it lies with its greatest length in the direction 
of the wind. However, we are headed directly for it 
325 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


so if it is a steamer that is not moving away from us, 
we should see the body rise above the horizon.” 

It was an anxious party that stood watching to 
learn their fate. Should it be a steamer that was not 
moving away from them and they could succeed in at- 
tracting its attention they might reasonably hope to be 
rescued. But was it a steamer? Might it not be a 
low-lying cloud? Time alone could tell, so they stood 
anxiously hoping against hope that it was truly a 
steamer and that it was coming their way and that 
they could attract its attention. 

“ Let’s build a fire on the deck and raise another 
smoke column,” said the captain. “ They would be 
able to see that a great way off.” 

“ Cap’in,” exclaimed Hiram, “ I’ve cleaned up thet 
ere old gun we took from the pirate wessel in the Sar- 
gasso Sea. S’pose I load and fire as soon as we are 
near enough.” 

“ That’s a good idea,” said the captain, “ get the 
gun ready, and I’ll build a fire with the boys’ help.” 

After half an hour’s waiting a long black line could 
be slowly seen rising above the horizon. On examin- 
ing it with the glasses they found it to be a steamer. 

“ It’s a steamer, all right,” cried Jack. 

“ Hurrah ! ” cried Harold, “ now there’s a chance 
of my seeing father and mother again.” 

By this time Hiram had the gun in condition and 
the captain had set fire to a pile* of wood placed on 
the deck. The fire was burning, and by throwing the 
water on it occasionally a column of smoke was soon 
3 2 6 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


rising from it. Would the steamer see them, that 
was the question that worried them? 

“In what direction is she heading, Hiram?” in- 
quired the captain handing him the glasses. 

“ She’s pinting straight toward us,” exclaimed Hi- 
ram, excitedly. “ We’re all right at last, Mr. Harold,” 
he said, turning to the lad, “ and sense we’re goin’ 
straight toward her, and she’s cornin’ straight toward 
us, it won’t be long afore we kin speak her.” 

“ Begin firing, Hiram. Fire minute guns ” (guns 
every minute). They’ll understand them as distress 
signals,” said the captain. 

“ Jack, help Hiram. Harold and I will keep the fire 
burning.” 

It soon became evident that the vessel had sighted 
them and had also heard their signal gun; for, she 
ran up a flag to her mainmast and discharged a gun 
thus indicating that she had seen them. 

“ Hurrah,” cried Harold, “ she’s heading this way.” 

“ She is indeed,” cried Jack. “ Captain, look at her 
colors. They are the colors of a flag that we can be 
sure will never pass us. They are the stars and 
stripes of the United States of America, a flag I love 
almost as much as our own dear British flag.” 

“ Dip our distress signal, Hiram,” said the captain, 
“ so that they may see we’re in trouble. Although, of 
course, the smoke column from our deck and the 
minute guns would indicate that without any flag.” 

The distance between the approaching steamer and 
the brig was now so much decreased that probably 
3 2 7 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


less than three miles separated them. It seemed as if 
nothing could prevent their rescue. Harold could 
scarcely wait until the distance was short enough to 
permit them to begin talking. 

They had again been looking so intently in one 
direction that they had failed to take any note of the 
very angry-looking clouds that were rapidly collecting 
in the heavens directly back of them. At last seeing 
them the captain said: 

“ Run to the cabin, Jack, and see how the barometer 
stands.” 

“ Very low, sir,” reported Jack, “ and, I think, 
rapidly falling.” 

“ A severe storm is approaching,” said the captain. 
“ Let us hope that it will not reach us before we speak 
the steamer and let them know who we are.” 

Unfortunately, in certain portions of the tropics 
storms arise with terrible rapidity, beginning with 
what those having little experience in the peculiarity 
of such storms, might think was only a squall. In 
this case it proved much more than a squall. The 
dark bank of clouds that first appeared in the west 
rapidly spread over the heavens, and before the dis- 
tance between them was markedly decreased, shut the 
steamer completely from their sight. 

“ This is most unfortunate,” cried the captain, “ but 
let us hope, that having seen us, she will endeavor to 
remain in these waters until the storm passes. I am 
sure we may reasonably expect this.” 

“ Yes,” exclaimed Jack, “ especially as it is the 
328 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


United States flag she was flying; for, the Yankees 
are certainly the most generous people and most fear- 
less/’ 

“ Unless,” added Harold, “ it be the English.” 

“ Well,” said Jack, “ I think they are even equal to 
the English, and I can’t say better than that.” 

They had now plenty to do thinking about their own 
safety; for, the storm increased rapidly in severity 
and huge waves were soon formed in the ocean that 
threatened the safety of any vessel, much less a dere- 
lict like the brig. 

But, perhaps, we are wrong in regarding the brig 
as being especially liable to destruction from high 
seas. Indeed, it would seem that they were really 
safer on the brig in the condition in which she existed 
than the others were on the stanch steamer; for, as 
long as the brig could hold together, her submerged 
part being filled with lumber and cork, she was almost 
unsinkable. 

“ I am more afraid for the safety of the steamer 
than I am for our own safety,” remarked the captain 
to Hiram. “ Let us hope that the storm will not 
continue so long that the brig will drift too far away 
from the steamer for her to help us should she be in 
a condition to do so.” 

But it was by no means a short storm that had 
burst on them. On the contrary, it continued for 
nearly six days, the brig being rapidly carried by the 
ocean currents and the winds through the stormy seas. 
Toward the close of the first day of the storm it 
329 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


became evident that the steamer, or at least some other 
in the neighborhood, was in distress ; for, every minute 
a gun was heard firing from a direction over the bow 
of the brig. 

“ I fear those minute guns are a signal from the 
steamer that has passed us. She has apparently been 
injured during the storm.” 

At the moment the gun was heard, the distance be- 
tween the steamer and the brig was so small that al- 
though in the darkness, for it was then night, they 
were unable to see it, yet the flash distinctly located 
its position. 

While they stood looking in the direction of the 
flash; for, of course, it was but momentary, leaving 
the part of the ocean in which it had been seen darker 
than before, a bright bluish light was seen. 

“ They are burning a bengola light,” said the cap- 
tain, “ to let us see where they are.” 

As is probably known by most of my readers a 
bengola light, or as it is sometimes called a bengal 
light, is frequently employed at sea as a signal. The 
powder employed in this light is composed of chemi- 
cals that are capable of burning with such fierceness, 
that when lighted, it cannot be extinguished by the 
strongest wind. It gives out a bright blue light that 
can be seen at considerable distances. 

Of course, they all watched the burning of the ben- 
gola light. Evidently, from the increased brilliancy 
of the light, the distance between the two vessels was 
rapidly decreasing for the light burned brighter and 
330 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


brighter until at last they could see the faint gleam of 
the lights on the steamer. 

It must be remembered that having lost their jury- 
rudder as well as their sails the brig was entirely at 
the mercy of the currents and the winds. Some idea 
may, therefore, be formed of their horror when they 
saw the steamer apparently heading directly for the 
brig. But they could do nothing except to cry out at 
the tops of their voices so as to let the steamer know 
their location. Although they cried as loud as pos- 
sible, yet the roar of the wind, and the noise of the 
waves, were so great that they might as well have kept 
quiet; for, the sounds were entirely unheard amid the 
roar of the elements. 

As the distance between the two vessels rapidly de- 
creased they saw a magnificent steamer in a crippled 
condition approaching them. Her masts were broken, 
her smokestacks missing, and a portion of her rail had 
been swept away. 

It seemed that nothing could prevent the brig being 
knocked into pieces by the collision Of the rapidly ap- 
proaching immense mass of iron. Fortunately, how- 
ever, the captain, or at least the officer in charge of 
the steamer at that time, was a cool-headed man ; for, 
seeing the great danger to both vessels, he evidently 
gave commands which caused the vessel to swerve 
suddenly and pass them so closely to the windward as 
to almost touch. Of course, they could not hear these 
commands, although they were then side by side. 
They could, however, see that the steamer was in great 
33i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


distress and could even distinguish different objects 
on deck. The steamer was evidently sinking for they 
were apparently getting ready to launch their life- 
boats. 

The two vessels were moving so rapidly that they 
were abreast for a much shorter time than has been re- 
quired for the reader to read this brief description of 
their passage. In a few moments they had passed each' 
other and soon were lost in the distance. 

“ I fear, Hiram,” said the captain, “ we cannot count 
on any help from that steamer.” 

“ I’m afeered not, sir,” was the reply. “ I’d a sight 
ruther be on this brig than on her, sense I don’t be- 
lieve we can sink, and I allow her chances fer sinking 
are fust-class.” 

But there was plenty to do on the brig at least so far 
as thinking was concerned to get their minds off from 
their unfortunate neighbors, and this was the gradually 
increasing strength of the waves; for, the brig might 
easily have been thrown off so as to turn turtle, had 
it not been for the fact that both the wind and the 
current were carrying them in the same direction, and 
especially because her water-logged condition made 
her lie very low in the water. 

The storm continued nearly five additional days 
without, however, their seeing the steamer again. Fi- 
nally, nearly six days after the storm began, the skies 
commenced to clear in the direction in which the wind 
was coming, and in a few hours the storm had passed, 
the sky cleared, the sun came out, and although the 
332 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


waves were still high, yet the ocean was rapidly becom- 
ing smoother. Of course, their first thought was of 
their neighbor. Had she escaped? Was she still in 
the neighborhood? Was she in a condition to give 
them any help? Or did she need the help they were 
ready to extend to her ? But though they searched the 
horizon in every direction with their glasses, there was 
nothing in sight. 

“ She has probably gone down,” remarked the cap- 
tain. 

“ I’m afeered so,” said Hiram. “ And ef she took 
to the sea in her life-boats, her crew has pussibly gone 
arter her.” 

The sea rapidly calmed, and for hours afterward 
they scanned the waters through their glasses in the 
hope that some of the boats might still be seen float- 
ing. Finally, near the middle of the day, Harold, 
who had been left alone on the deck with Hiram, it 
then being their watch, ran excitedly to Hiram ex- 
claiming : 

“ I think I see a floating boat out there on the 
water,” pointing to a point at least a mile distant on 
their starboard side. 

Hiram seized the glasses and looking through them 
instantly exclaimed: 

“ I reckon you’re right about it. Run to the cabin 
and tell the captain thet a floating life-boat is in sight 
on our starboard bow.” 

That Harold had news of a most important char- 
acter to tell the captain and Jack who were in the 
333 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


cabin was so evident by his very footsteps that both 
the captain and Jack met him at the companion way. 

“ What is it?” inquired the captain, looking at 
Harold’s excited face. 

“ A life-boat in view on our starboard bow.” 

Rushing to the deck he joined Hiram and inquired : 

“ Where is it, Hiram? ” 

Hiram pointed to the spot, and the captain at once 
examined it with the glasses, and exclaimed : 

“ It is a life-boat. What can you make out in it, 
Hiram?” 

“ Four or five bodies, sir,” was the reply. 

“ Alive or dead ? ” was the inquiry. 

“ I feer they be dead, sir. At least they are wery 
quiet and still ef they have any life in them.” 

“ Stand ready to lower the life-boat, Hiram,” ex- 
claimed the captain. “ We must pick up that boat.” 

“ Fortunately,” said Hiram, “ we’re drifting now al- 
most dead on, so we’ll not pass wery fer from it.” 

This was indeed a fortunate circumstance, since there 
might have been some difficulty in their lowering their 
life-boat, reaching the drifting boat, and then being 
able to regain the brig. The current in which they 
were then drifting was fortunately far from rapid, so 
that they had very little difficulty in lowering the boat 
which was manned by the captain and Jack. 

It was indeed an awful sight that presented itself 
as they rowed their life-boat after the drifting boat. 
It contained five people, four men and a lad about Har- 
old’s age. The men were dead. Indeed, their bodies 
334 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


had begun to putrefy, and the boy was so nearly gone 
that he did not even open his eyes when they reached 
the boat and secured it to the stern of their boat and 
returned with it to the brig. 

The sight of dead bodies is always appalling. There 
is a natural feeling of repugnance which causes most 
of us almost unconsciously to dislike coming near 
them, and this Jack felt keenly, but when the captain, 
after a hasty examination, informed Jack that the 
boy was living, he had no hesitation in aiding him to 
place a little water obtained from their boat to the 
lips of the boy, although in order to do this he had to 
pass over the dead bodies of the four men in the 
boat. 

The water evidently revived the lad, although not 
sufficiently to enable him to regain consciousness, or, 
indeed, even to lead to the opening of his eyes. 

“ Help me lift the lad into our boat,” said the cap- 
tain, “ and then let us row as quickly as possible to the 
brig where we will have better chances for resuscitating 
him.” 

“ Do you think he will die, captain? ” inquired Jack, 
anxiously. 

. “ He may die,” was the reply, “ but he appears to be 

a well-built lad and has youth in his favor. If we are 
careful to prevent him from eating too much at first 
I think we can save his life. But let us pull rapidly for 
the brig, we’ll tow the boat and the dead bodies after 
us.” 

They reached the brig after ten minutes’ hard row- 

335 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in g and at last succeeded in bringing their life-boat 
together with the strange boy on deck. 

And now something very curious happened. Rom- 
pey, who had been standing alongside of Harold while 
the boat was approaching them, manifested great ex- 
citement. Looking earnestly up into his young mas- 
ter’s face, and shaking his tail, he made a variety of 
sounds as if he were anxious to communicate some- 
thing of importance to him. 

“Why, what is the matter, Rompey?” inquired 
Harold. “ Does the sight of the dead bodies in the 
boat scare you? ” 

But Rompey’s excitement increased rather than 
abated, and when at the captain’s request their life- 
boat was raised on the deck with the still insensible 
body of the strange boy, his excitement increased, and 
when they had lifted the boy out of the boat and were 
tenderly carrying him to the cabin, Rompey rushed to- 
ward the lad and commenced licking his face. 

“ Look at Rompey, uncle,” exclaimed Harold. “ He 
looks as if he recognizes the boy.” 

“ Yes, Harold,” was the reply. “ And do you 
know,” he added, “ I would not be surprised if this 
is the Charley we have imagined was Rompey’s first 
master.” 

“ I hope so,” replied Harold. “ I’ll try him. Rom- 
pey,” he continued, addressing the dog, “ where’s 
Charley? find Charley.” 

The excitement of the poor animal now greatly in- 
creased, and placing one paw on the body of the boy 

336 



u 


The excitement of the poor animal 


greatly increased ” 


no zv 


Page 33 6 

































































































FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


who had now been placed on Harold’s bunk in the 
cabin, he looked up into Harold’s face and wagging his 
tail commenced to bark in a joyous manner. 

Whether it was the barking of the dog, or a small 
glass of port wine mixed with water they had at once 
given him, that resuscitated the boy, we will not as- 
sert. But, momentarily opening his eyes, and appar- 
ently seeing only the dog, he exclaimed in a feeble 
voice : 

“ Hello, Rompey, good dog, where did you come 
from ? ” while the poor animal now almost wild with 
joy again began barking and otherwise showed great 
excitement. The little effort, however, was apparently 
too much for the boy, who again closed his eyes and 
became unconscious. 

“ We’re right,” said the captain, “ this is Charley. 
Let us get off his wet clothing, and put him com- 
fortably to bed. Harold, you must let him have your 
berth for to-night.” 

“ Certainly, Uncle Arthur, I’ll be more than glad to 
do so. It’s a good-sized berth and plenty big enough 
for both of us, and if as I hope, Charley and I will get 
to be chums, for I like his looks, and he’s just about my 
age, he may share it with me, as long as we are to- 
gether on the brig. Of course, I must give Rompey up, 
now, as dearly as I love him, but I think that as 
Charley and I are going to be great chums he will be 
willing to give me half of Rompey, he keeping the 
other half ; that is, we can both be masters. 

By this time they had removed all of the lad’s cloth- 

w 337 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in g, wrapping him in a blanket, while Hiram took the 
clothes promising to dry them in the sun. 

Cautiously giving the boy a little sip of port wine 
and water every now and then he soon rapidly re- 
gained consciousness. The captain had purposely per- 
mitted Rompey to remain in the cabin, so that the 
first thing the boy should see on opening his eyes, 
should be Rompey. So again on seeing the dog, he 
exclaimed in wonderment : 

“ Why, Rompey, how in the world did you get 
here ? ” and then seeing Harold, Jack, and the captain, 
he looked up in a surprised manner, and said : “ Where 
am I?” 

“ You’re all right, my lad,” said the captain. “ You 
are in the cabin of a brig that picked you out of the 
life-boat a few hours ago.” 

“ Yes, you’re all right, Charley,” said Harold, “ and 
I hope you and I are going to become great chums.” 

When the strange lad heard Harold call him by 
name a smile broke out over his face and holding out 
his hand to Harold, he said : 

“ That’s my name, sure. I don’t know how you 
found it out, but as to being chums there will be no 
trouble about that. Here’s my hand to prove it.” 

“ That’ll do now,” said the captain, “ I wouldn’t 
talk any more, Charley. You’ve been for a long time 
without food and water, and are very weak.” 

It was evident, however, that something was trou- 
bling Charley; for, looking up into the captain’s face 
he inquired : 


338 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ There were six men in the boat with me, sir. Did 
you find any of them alive ? ” 

“ No, Charley,” was the reply, “ there were only 
four men in the boat when we picked it up, and they 
had been dead apparently for at least a day.” 

On hearing this the lad turned his face away from 
him, and the tears began to roll down his face. 

“ They were no relatives of mine,” he said, “ only 
two doctors and four sailors. But they were kind, jolly 
fellows, and it is sad to hear they are dead. What’s 
your name? ” he asked, turning to Jack. 

“ John Parker Jackson,” was the reply. 

“ And yours ? ” he inquired of Harold. 

“ Harold Arthur Harding. And this,” he added, 
turning to the captain, “ is my uncle, Captain Arthur 
Harding, captain of this brig.” 

“ Captain,” inquired Jack, “ can we not safely give 
Charley something to eat? ” 

“ I wish you would, Jack,” said Charley. “ I’ve had 
nothing to eat or drink for the last three days. I will 
tell you about it.” 

“ No, Charley,” said the captain firmly, “ you must 
first eat something. What have you brought, Jack ? ” 
i he continued, turning to Jack, who at this moment 
entered with some food from the galley. 

Jack showed him some articles of food Hiram had 
given him. 

“ There’s nothing here that Charley can safely eat,” 
said the captain, “ but this,” and selecting a sweet bis- 
cuit, he moistened it with some port wine and fed it 
339 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


in small quantities to the lad. “ Now,” he said, “ go 
to sleep, Charley, and when you wake we’ll tell you 
where you are, and you can tell us all about yourself, 
where you were going, and where you are from. We 
will let Rompey stay with you for company.” 

“ And I will stay too,” said Harold to his uncle, 
“ if I may, and help Rompey watch.” ‘ 

This offer of Harold’s appeared to please Charley 
very much; for he put his hand in Harold’s, and al- 
most immediately fell into a sound peaceful slumber. 


340 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXV 
Charley's Story 

Although Charley woke several times during the 
night it was only to take a small quantity of nourish- 
ment in the form of a biscuit soaked in port wine. 
When the captain explained to Harold and Jack that 
Charley’s companions had evidently died from starva- 
tion and thirst, and that Charley’s recovery depended 
entirely on the care taken in feeding him during the 
next twelve hours, Harold begged permission to sit 
up with him all night, so as to be ready to give him 
the small quantities of nourishment that the captain 
said he ought to have every few hours should he wake 
up. 

“ Please let me sit up, Uncle Arthur,” he exclaimed. 
“ I’d like to do something for Charley. I am sure he 
and I are going to be great chums ; at least,” he added, 
“ I hope so, for, I never remember seeing a boy that I 
like as much as Charley.” 

; This strong attraction of Harold for Charley, had, 
of course, been noticed by all. Indeed, as Jack laugh- 
ingly remarked: Harold appeared to be even more 
strongly drawn toward Charley than Rompey had been 
toward Harold. 

“I don’t care, Jack,” said Harold. “ You may 
jolly me as much as you like, but I certainly like 
34i 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


Charley very much, and only hope he will care for me 
as much as I do for him. Besides,” he added, after 
remaining silent for a short time as if he had been rea- 
soning about it with himself, “ since Charley is Roin- 
pey’s master, and I am also his master we ought to be 
great friends. Of course, I must give up Rompey to 
Charley, but I am sure he will let me own Rompey 
along with him, say Charley one-half, and I the other 
half.” 

Though the captain permitted Harold to sit up and 
be Charley’s nurse, the lad was not the only nurse, for 
the captain kept him company the greater part of the 
night. He knew full well the importance of seeing 
that the lad received proper nourishment in small 
quantities, whenever he should wake up, and he felt 
sure he would often wake by reason of his hunger. 

The captain left Harold sitting watching Charley. 
Taking Jack with him they aided Hiram in removing 
the dead bodies of the four men from the life-boat and 
placing them on deck, afterward carefully drawing up 
the life-boat, which was a much better boat than the 
one built by Hiram. 

The four men must have been dead for several days ; 
for, under the exposure of the hot sun and the moist 
air, putrefaction had set in, and there was an imme- 
diate necessity for burying them. They removed some 
small articles found on the bodies, hoping at some time 
to be able to send them to the dead men’s friends. As 
the captain explained to Hiram and Jack they would 
not bury them until the next day, since Charley would 
342 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


naturally desire to see the bodies, so as to know which 
of them disappeared from the boat. They then aided 
Hiram in sewing up the bodies in blankets leaving the 
faces exposed, but enough of the blankets unsewed 
readily to cover them while being prepared for burial. 
Before closing the blanket at the feet, a number of sash- 
weights, from the hardware in the hold, were placed 
in the blankets so as to insure the rapid sinking of the 
bodies. When this was done the four bodies were laid 
in order on the deck, and covered with a blanket. 

Toward midnight being assured from the condition 
of Charley’s pulse that it would be safe to give him 
more nourishing food, the captain asked Hiram to 
prepare a good cup of tea, together with a small quan- 
tity of canned chicken soup, and a piece of toasted bis- 
cuit. Charley, awakening shortly after Hiram brought 
the food into the cabin, Harold fed him with small 
quantities at a time. That Charley greatly enjoyed the 
more substantial food was evident from the smile that 
broke out over his face as he was eating it; for, look- 
ing at Harold, he said in a weak voice : 

“ Thank you; that’s very good; I like you,” al- 
most immediately again falling into a deep sleep. 

Early next morning, long before either the captain 
or Jack had awakened, Charley opened his eyes, wide 
awake, and looking at Harold exclaimed : 

“ You’re name’s Harold. Have you been sitting 
up all night watching me, and giving me food? ” 

“ Yes, I’ve been watching you, Charley,” was the 
reply. “ How are you feeling ? ” 

34 3 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Oh, I’m all right; I’d like to get up, but where are 
my clothes ? ” 

“ We took them off yesterday to have them dried. 
They are here, shall I help you to put them on? ” 

“ No,” replied Charley, “ I won’t trouble you to 
dress me. I’m certainly old enough to dress myself,” 
he said smiling. 

“ All right, Charley,” was the reply, “ but don’t for- 
get you are still weak. Go on dressing and if you find 
you want help, call out, and I’ll help you.” 

It did not take long for Charley to discover that 
he was too weak to be able to dress himself without 
assistance, so in a few moments, he looked at Harold, 
and smiling, said : 

“ You’re right, Harold. I am weaker than I 
thought. I guess you had better play nurse and dress 
me.” 

When the dressing was completed, the exertion had 
been so great even with Harold’s help, that Charley 
found it necessary to lie down on the berth. 

“ Now wait awhile,” said Harold to him, “ and I’ll 
go and see if I can get you something to eat. Hiram 
will be in the galley at this time, and the captain told 
me to give you small quantities of food whenever you 
wanted it. Do you want it now ? ” he continued. 

“ Try and see,” replied Charley, smiling. 

In a few moments Harold returned with a cup of 
tea and a slice of toasted biscuit. 

“ I thought it best not to bring much, as I hope you 
will be able to take breakfast with us. Anyhow I 
344 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


should like the captain to see you before you attempt 
to eat a full meal.” 

When he was done eating Charley again fell into a 
refreshing sleep, from which the captain had Harold 
awaken him a few moments before breakfast was on 
the table, telling him to bring Charley to the table, 
when the four bells rang. 

While sitting by the side of the berth talking to- 
gether four bells rang. 

“ Hello,” said Charley, “ six o’clock. Does that 
mean breakfast ? ” 

“ Yes, do you feel like walking to the table? ” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Charley, “ I’m all right,” and he 
was soon seated at the table where he found the captain 
and Jack. 

“ Good morning, Charley,” said the captain, “ how 
are you feeling now ? ” 

“ Very well, captain,” said Charley, smiling, “ I feel 
all right; only I’m as hungry as a bear. Indeed, I feel 
as if I could eat my head off right now and then call 
for more.” 

“ Which would be a very remarkable thing,” replied 
Jack, laughing; “ for a thoroughly well boy to do, let 
alone a boy who has been as nearly dead as he could 
well be.” 

“ That’s so,” said Charley, laughing. “ You’re 
name’s Jack, ain’t it? ” 

“ Yes, Charley,” replied Jack, “ and I hope that you, 
Harold, and I will have great times together.” 

“ It won’t be my fault if we don’t,” was the reply, 

345 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ for I don’t think there will be much trouble in having 
all kinds of fun with two boys like Harold and you.” 

After feeling Charley’s pulse the captain said : 

“ Charley, I’m glad to say that I can see no reason 
now why you cannot safely take a good meal. I have 
asked Hiram to prepare you a good cup of chocolate 
with condensed milk, and have had him bake a bluefish 
taken from our fish-well in the hold of the boat. So 
begin eating; take small mouthfuls, chew your food 
thoroughly, and enjoy yourself.” 

“ Thank you,” said Charley, “ I’ll do all of that, 
even the chewing part, though I warn you that will 
bother me, for I am almost ravenous.” 

When they had nearly finished eating breakfast, the 
captain said : 

“ Now, Charley, if you feel able to do so, we will 
be glad to have you tell us who you are ; how you got 
into the boat in which we found you ; where you were 
going; and anything else you’re willing to tell 
strangers. As for ourselves, with the exception of 
Hiram, the man you saw bringing in the breakfast, the 
entire crew of the brig is in this room,” then explaining 
briefly how they had been shipwrecked, had been struck 
by the derelict, adding: “ Harold and Jack will tell 
you further particulars sometime to-day or to-morrow. 
Now we’re ready to hear all your story if you are 
ready to tell us.” 

“ I’m ready, captain,” was the reply, “ but before I 
say anything about myself, let me tell you how much I 
am obliged to all of you for the kindness you’ve shown 

346 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


me. And especially, Harold, to you ,” he added, look- 
ing affectionately at him, “ for sitting up with me 
all night, and taking such good care of me.” 

“ To begin with,” he continued, “ my name is 
Charles Young Pleasanton. I’m thirteen years and a 
half old.” 

“ Just my age,” said Harold, interrupting him. 

Looking smilingly toward Harold as if the fact of 
their being of the same age greatly pleased him, 
Charley continued : 

“ My mother and father are both living in Mel- 
bourne, Australia. Some six months ago, my father 
was unexpectedly called to London on important busi- 
ness and wishing to give me a pleasure trip took me 
with him. My pet collie, Rompey,” he said, fondling 
the animal, who was greatly pleased at the petting of 
his master, “ of course, greatly missed me. I wanted 
to take him to England with me, but quite naturally, 
father objected, so the dog was sent to one of father’s 
sheep ranges in the southwestern part of Australia. 
You do not know that Rompey is a great sheep dog. 
I brought him to Melbourne from the range on which 
he was born. I generally passed my vacation on this 
range. We have two months of holidays in the school 
at Melbourne, which I attended. Rompey, who had 
greatly missed me, seemed to believe he was to meet 
me at the range; for, whenever he could get the op- 
portunity, he would break loose and visit all the places 
where he and I spent most of our time when in the 
open air. 


347 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ Father had a great number of rowboats which 
he kept for the convenience of the people in charge of 
the range.” 

“ Yes, I know,” interrupted Harold, “ we found 
Rompey in a boat marked ‘ No. 23.’ ” 

“ Yes, that was my boat; I called it ‘ 23 ’ for fun,” 
said Charley, smiling. “ Shortly after reaching Lon- 
don, I learned from a letter sent me from the man in 
charge of the range that whenever Rompey managed 
to escape from his kennel he would wander unhappily 
about trying to find me. And when unsuccessful in 
finding me, they would generally find him lying down 
in my boat in the seat I generally occupied, moaning as 
if in great grief. As the letter informed me, my boat 
was one day found missing, the painter having become 
untied, we all concluded that poor Rompey had been 
carried to sea and was lost. 

“ Father had only intended to remain in London for 
a few weeks, but unexpectedly found it necessary to 
be away for several months. Being unwilling that 
I should miss my school work for so long a time 
he told me that he would prefer my returning home 
alone. 4 Besides,’ he added, ‘ mother will be missing 
you.’ He said, however, that if I felt at all timid about 
returning by myself I could stay. I saw, though, that 
father wished me to return; and, indeed,” he added 
with a smile, not unaccompanied by a sorrowful look, 
“ he knew me well, so that when he spoke about my 
being timid that settled the matter. For,” he added, 
looking toward the two boys, “ when you know me 
348 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


better, you will find that I’m not the kind of a boy who 
is apt to feel lonely or timid. I, therefore, determined 
to return home, and father succeeded in placing me on 
a steamer bound for Melbourne in charge of the cap- 
tain, with whom father had very friendly relations. 

“We had a pleasant voyage from London, and 
passed through the Straits of Magellan safely, and 
were at last steaming steadily to the west. When 
nearly midway between Australia and South America, 
for I remember seeing where the captain had marked 
our situation on the chart, the captain having kindly 
given me a berth in his cabin, one of the sailors came 
into the cabin and reported to the captain that a brig 
had been sighted in distress, without any masts and a 
signal fire burning on deck from which a column of 
smoke was rising.” 

“ That was our brig, Charley,” said the captain. 

“ Was it, indeed,” was the reply. “ How strange 
things happen. We changed our course and was head- 
ing for the brig when a gun-shot was heard from the 
brig, and a distress signal was raised. Since we were 
now heading directly for the brig we would soon have 
been within speaking distance had it not been for a 
severe storm that rapidly overtook us, so shutting out 
the light that we completely lost sight of you. This 
storm, as you know, continued for nearly a week. 
Early during the storm, our steamer became un- 
manageable having broken its twin-screw propellers, 
and was soon in a sinking condition from the seas 
striking her amidships. We were, therefore, obliged 
349 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


to take to the boats. The captain wishing to give me 
the best chance for my life insisted that I should go 
on one of the other boats with four of the crew and our 
Doctor Graham and his assistant Doctor Bulcher; 
for, of course, the captain intended to be the last man 
on the steamer, and since she was in a sinking condi- 
tion when the boats were put off, the boat on which he 
left would necessarily have the smallest chance of 
escaping. 

“ The boat in which I was placed was separated from 
the rest of the other boats.” 

“ How odd,” said Harold, again interrupting 
Charley, “ that is just what happened to our boat when 
we were obliged to leave the Ketrel after it was 
wrecked in the China Sea. But excuse me,” he added, 
“ I will tell you about that afterward.” 

“ I cannot tell you all our sufferings while on the 
boat,” continued Charley. “ We had the great mis- 
fortune to have all our food supplies and fresh water 
swept overboard, so that in addition to the hard work 
required for keeping the boat’s bow onto the waves 
we began to suffer greatly from hunger and thirst. 
The men in the boat were very kind to me. Indeed,” 
he added, “ I strongly suspect that the doctor and his 
assistant generously gave me a part of their food and 
drink, and it is to that fact I owe my life. I have 
only a confused recollection of what occurred during 
the last few days. Finally I lost consciousness and 
remember nothing until I opened my eyes for a mo- 
ment and found myself in this cabin. Captain,” he 
350 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


added, anxiously, “ you say none of the other people 
in the boat besides me were found living? ” 

“ None of them, Charley,” said the captain, with a 
sorrowful look. “ I regret to say that they were all 
dead, and, indeed, you were so nearly dead that it 
required very delicate handling to prevent the little 
life that remained in you from disappearing.” 

“ And how many bodies did you find in the boat ? ” 
inquired the lad, anxiously. 

“ Four,” was the reply. 

“ Then the other two,” said Charley, sorrowfully, 
“ must have been swept overboard.” 

“ Most probably so, but then, Charley, such strange 
things happen at sea, they may have escaped, though I 
acknowledge that their chances appear to have been 
very small.” 

“ Captain,” said Charley, hesitatingly, “ have the 
bodies been buried ? ” 

“ No,” was the reply, “ I thought you might wish to 
attend the burial and see the bodies before they were 
committed to the deep. If you would like to do this 
and feel strong enough we will attend to it now.” 

“ I am ready,” replied the lad in a sorrowful voice. 

So they helped him up the companionway and led 
him to the part of the brig where the four bodies were 
placed side by side, with their faces still uncovered. 
After looking sorrowfully at them for a few moments, 
Charley exclaimed : 

“ It is the doctor and his assistant who are not here. 
These are all members of the crew.” 

351 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ If you are ready, Charley,” said the captain, “ I 
will aid Hiram in sewing up the blankets, so as to 
cover their faces, and will then read the burial serv- 
ice.” 

While this was being done Charley noticed that 
Hiram had already arranged a plank that sloped from 
a short distance above the deck of the brig toward the 
water. It was down this inclined plank that the bodies 
were to be slid to their watery graves. 

Everything now being ready, they all stood with 
bared heads while the captain read the magnificent 
burial service prescribed for the burying of bodies 
at sea by the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

The event was one that I am sure none of those 
present will ever forget. They were themselves in a 
position that might result in their death at almost any 
moment. They were separated from their dear ones 
who were probably mourning them as dead, so they 
were naturally greatly impressed by the beautiful 
words of the burial service. 

“ I am the resurrection and the life, said the Lord; 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, 
shall never die. We brought nothing into this world 
and it is certain we can carry nothing out; the Lord 
gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the 
name of the Lord.” 

Then followed the other beautiful words of the 
service until the captain read the words especially de- 
signed for the burial of the dead at sea : 

352 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


“ We therefore commit these bodies to the deep, 
looking for their resurrection on the last day, and the 
life of the world to come.” 

As these words were pronounced, Hiram and Jack 
lifting the bodies one after another, slid them down 
the inclined board into the sea at the stern of the 
vessel. As the bodies struck the water they were im- 
mediately carried by the heavy weights below the sur- 
face sinking out of sight. 

It is to the honor of the onlookers that there was 
not a dry eye among them. As for Charley, weakened 
as he had been by long exposure to hunger and thirst, 
the tears coursed rapidly down his cheeks. 

When the last words of the burial service were 
spoken, the captain whispered to Harold: 

“ Take Charley down into the cabin and persuade 
him to lie down. Stay with him, and if you can, get 
talking with him so as to get his mind off this very sad 
scene.” 

Charley and Harold remained together in the cabin 
for several hours, the others purposely refraining from 
joining them. The others never knew what passed 
between the two lads, but when they came out on deck 
they all noticed that they seemed to be drawn still more 
closely together, and from that day were more and 
more attached to each other. 


x 


353 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


CHAPTER XXVI 
The Wreck of the Brig 

A few days after the burial of the four bodies Rompey 
came into the cabin where Harold and Charley were, 
sitting side by side. Placing one of his paws on each 
of the boys he looked earnestly into their faces giving 
a low but joyful whine. He alternately licked them on 
the face one after the other, as if to say : 

" I belong to both of you, do I not ? for, I like both 
of you very much.” 

“ There,” cried Charley, laughing, “ Rompey has 
decided the question as to who owns him. As you 
can see he is here offering dutiful allegiance to each 
of us, so let us agree that both of us are his masters, 
one-half of him belongs to you and half to me. I’m 
sure between us we can make him very happy. Do 
you like both of us, Rompey ? ” cried Charley. 

The animal gave a bark, wonderful in the sounds it 
contained, and both by the barking and shaking of his 
tail, but, perhaps, still more by his intelligent looks he 
seemed to assure them that he liked both of them, and 
was pleased to have them both as his masters. 

Harold and Jack, as well, indeed, as all the rest of 
them explained to Charley, the curious condition in 
which they were living on the brig, and gave him a full 
account of their adventures in the open boat after they 
354 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


had seen the Ketrel sink, up to the time when they 
were run into by the brig during the darkness of the 
night. 

When Charley was told how they were sending 
messages in corked bottles by the waves and the 
currents, in the hope of these bottles being picked up 
by passing vessels, and thus letting then* friends know 
that they were still living and where to look for them, 
he eagerly joined Harold in the sending of these mes- 
sages through the post-office of the sea. Now, how- 
ever, there was added the additional member of their 
crew who had been picked up in an open boat in the 
mid-Pacific between South America and Australia. 

“ You see, Harold,” said Charley, “ there is a chance 
in this way of my mother and father learning that I 
escaped and am safe with you on a brig.” 

As day after day passed in Charley’s company every 
one on the brig learned to love him more and more; 
for, he was indeed a very lovable lad. By this I by no 
means mean that he was in the slightest degree of the 
girlish type. On the contrary, a more manly little 
fellow probably did not exist. He was full of fun and 
mischief, and constantly playing all sorts of tricks and 
pranks on every one on the vessel, not even excepting 
the captain. As for Hiram, Charley had apparently 
carried the old man’s heart by storm almost from the 
moment that he was first brought in an almost dying 
condition on the brig. With all his mischievous 
tricks, however, Charley never lost an opportunity of 
doing a kind and thoughtful act for some of them on 

355 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


the brig. He was constantly finding Hiram’s pipe for 
him, when he had temporarily laid it aside and couldn’t 
find it, and filling it for him when empty. While 
in the cabin, he was only too happy if the captain would 
let him look for and bring him some particular book 
from the book-shelf, nor did Jack resent the fact that 
the new lad had completely captured the heart of his 
former chum, Harold. On the contrary, Jack soon 
began to like the little fellow as much as he had Harold, 
so that he afterward expressed it to the captain : 

“ I have not lost Harold as a chum, captain. I have 
gained another chum that I like almost, if not quite, 
as well as my old chum.” 

As to the matter of a berth the boys settled that by 
begging the captain to permit them to sleep in the same 
berth, and as there was no objection to this, the cap- 
tain permitted Hiram at his request to build an addi- 
tion to Harold’s berth, so that the two boys could oc- 
cupy it without being crowded. 

I’m sure it is not necessary to tell my boy readers 
that the two younger lads sleeping immediately under 
Jack, who occupied the upper berth, played many prac- 
tical jokes on him, both before and after he had turned 
in for the night. Jack, however, was perfectly able to 
take care of himself, and repaid these jokes with full 
interest much to the delight of the two youngsters. 

Charley had not been on deck very long before 
inquiring the use of the huge tortoise-shell bathtub, 
and on being informed what they used it for, at once 
suggested that he and Harold should have it filled. 

356 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


This Hiram was always willing to do, and the two lads 
greatly enjoyed themselves during the middle of the 
day when the air was very warm. 

There was one trait in Charley that greatly surprised 
them, especially the captain. He was wonderfully well 
acquainted with the facts of natural history, both as 
regards the land and water fauna, and greatly in- 
terested the captain by the intelligent questions he asked 
concerning the fish they caught, the birds they shot, 
and the larger animals they saw from time to time both 
in the air and the water. Indeed, Charley was quite a 
little bookworm considering his age, and would often 
sit poring over the splendid volumes of natural history 
he found in the doctor’s library in the cabin, until the 
captain would drive him out on the deck, telling him to 
go take a bath or some other exercise with Harold. 

The coming of Charley was very pleasant for all. 
When a community consists of four people only, the 
coming of but a single additional member makes a 
great proportionate increase in their numbers. But 
when this increase took, as it did in this case, the form 
of such a lively and likable youngster as Charley, it 
seemed as though there had been added, not a single 
additional member only, but many. 

They were not destined, however, to remain to- 
gether much longer in their comfortable quarters on 
the brig. One day, rather less than two weeks after 
Charley’s coming on board, an exceedingly severe 
storm struck the brig and continued almost uninter- 
ruptedly for seven days. During its continuance the 
357 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


sea ran high, and for some reason or other the brig 
instead of keeping its bow well to the waves failed 
to swing around, so that the waves frequently struck 
her amidships. To what this behavior was due neither 
the captain nor Hiram was able to determine. They 
agreed, however, that it was probably the shifting of 
the lumber. 

The frequent pounding of the sides of the brig made 
the captain and Hiram so anxious for its safety 
that at the captain’s direction they constantly wore the 
life-belts, that it will be remembered they had pre- 
pared by sewing bits of cork in strips of canvas. 
Of course, Hiram prepared a life-belt for Charley 
as well as two small belts to be so passed around 
Rompey’s body as to insure his floating with his head 
erect. 

One day when they felt that almost any hour the 
brig might go to pieces Harold said to Charley : 

“ Charley, do you know how to swim ? ” 

“ Like a duck,” was the reply. “ I was considered 
one of the best boy swimmers in Melbourne, and can 
easily keep swimming for several hours.” 

The storm instead of decreasing, increased in in- 
tensity, until the beginning of the seventh day when 
they observed that the sky began to grow lighter, and 
the wind to die down, though it was still very strong 
and the sea was running high. They were all on deck ; 
the brig had been pounded so merciles’sly by the waves 
that they knew that at any moment it might go to 
pieces. As they were standing looking in the direc- 

358 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


tion of the bow, they were surprised to hear Hiram 
suddenly call to the captain : 

“ Breakers on the starboard bow, sir ! ” 

Looking in the direction indicated they saw a heavy 
line of white foam and heard the sound of breakers. 
The brig was being driven directly toward these, and 
at last was near enough for them to see the waves 
dashing furiously against a sunken rock, while farther 
on, at a distance of about a mile from the brig, could 
be seen the low sandy beach of a coral island and back 
of it the waving green plumes of many groves of the 
cocoanut palms. 

The sky had been rapidly growing lighter and at 
this moment the sun coming out they could distinctly 
see that the vessel was being driven directly toward the 
reef. 

Seeing that the brig must be dashed on the reef they 
dove into the water only a few moments before a 
severe shock was heard, and they were all surrounded 
by the floating pieces from the brig, which had broken 
in two on striking the reef and soon afterward had in 
part broken up. 

“ But we have reached the end of “ Five Months on 
a Derelict.” Our friends had been on the derelict 
brig exactly five months from the day they boarded it 
in the China Sea, up to the time they had been forced 
to leave it by plunging into the ocean just before it 
struck against the submerged reef. Those who wish 
to read about the interesting adventures they after- 
359 


FIVE MONTHS ON A DERELICT 


ward had will find them recounted in the second 
volume of the “ Pacific Series,” entitled, “ Wrecked 
on a Coral Island.” 

I will not, however, leave our friends in the water 
without saying that they all safely reached the coral 
island where they spent many happy days. 


780 "« 


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